Answered prayer

Answered Prayer

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 ESV

This morning as I was beginning to pray, I realized I didn’t need to pray for my father anymore. My first prayer for my dad was answered when he received Christ as his Savior. As the years passed, I prayed for him to be guided and helped by God. As Dad grew older, I often asked for healing and strength. After my stepmom slipped into eternity, I prayed for comfort. When he chose to live alone, I prayed for him to experience God’s presence. This morning as I looked back, I suddenly realized that every prayer has been answered along the way. Dad is now healed and young again! He is no longer lonely, confused or tired. He found every answer on the other side of heaven’s door.

Today as we pray, Jesus teaches us that we can be assured that our prayers will be answered, because of God’s promise. When we ask, He promises we will receive. When we truly seek, He guarantees we will truly find. When we knock, knock eagerly, knowing that our Father in heaven already has his hand on the doorknob waiting to open! Prayer is the longing that God has put in our hearts for a world that reflects His purpose. Be faithful. Don’t give up on prayer. We may forget what we have asked, but God remembers and hears and answers prayer. It doesn’t matter what it looks like now. One day we will see that every one of our prayers has been answered: And so much more!

Make my life a prayer to You
I wanna do what You want me to
No empty words and no white lies
No token prayers, no compromise
I wanna shine the light You gave
Through Your Son You sent to save us
From ourselves and our despair
It comforts me to know
You're really there
Make My Life a Prayer by Keith Green

Answered Prayer

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”   Matthew 14:30-31  

When Peter began to sink beneath the waves; he didn’t consider even for a moment trying to swim back to the boat. Instead he just cried out; “Lord save me!” and it was done. God is delighted to answer prayer but He is waiting for us to give him our biggest problems; ones beyond simply blessing our food and giving us a good night’s sleep. Sadly when I think of this story I realize how little I have really lived it. Maybe it is because I am afraid of a God who is too real and too big for me to handle. But oh how I am missing out on the immense value of answered prayer.

Are you like me, sinking in your struggle with an ocean too big for you to handle? Then instead of just saying words and then trying to swim why not cry out; “God I’m in trouble – I need your help right now!” God is listening and waiting to hear our voice. He knows the path ahead and His amazing plan is to walk it with us!

Did God Say No? In the Shadow of the Cross

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And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.            Matthew 26:39 KJV

Do you ever wonder if God is listening to your prayers? Does it sometimes feel as if your desires are somehow out of line with the universe? But what about Jesus? Didn’t He pray for God to work out some way that didn’t include the cross? Did God say “No” to Him?

Maybe God’s answer to our prayers is not what we hope for but He looks far ahead past our struggles just as in Gethsemane. On the third day we can see that Jesus wasn’t being ignored and neither are we today. We are each being listened to by a loving Father who quietly waits between our “If it is possible” and “Nevertheless not as I will”. Even when the situation looks hopeless; God not only hears, but He is mysteriously preparing an answer beyond anything we can imagine. When we pray and the answer seems far away we need to remind ourselves that Jesus first drank the bitterness of His cup to later exchange it for a joy that lay beyond the grave.

 

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Prayer: Father -some days it seems that trials are all that lie ahead. Some days it feels as if my prayers are unanswered, but I know that you are listening. Help me to trust that your will is far better than mine and that on the other side of this darkness is a joy that will never fade away.