At times our understanding is limited. We simply have to trust our heavenly Father to know best. We have to trust God’s silences and respect God’s mysteries and wait for God’s answers.
When we pray for the healing of a loved one, and he dies . . .
When we pray for release from a financial burden, and we go bankrupt . . .
When we pray for reconciliation, and we are handed divorce papers . . .
When we pray for our career, and we get laid off . . .
When we pray for protection, and we are robbed . . .
We just have to trust Him. Trust Him. Trust Him!
Jesus said we are to ask if we want to receive.
My mother encouraged me as a little girl to pray specifically. She bought me a small white leather notebook, and in it I carefully recorded my requests. Then, at her instruction, I left a blank line under each one so I could record the date of the answer. In the front of the little book, she penned these words:
Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring,
For His grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much!
So feel free to ask! But leave a blank space under your request so you can record the answer! Because Jesus said if we ask we will receive.
Apr 23, 2013
Watch Anne from Capernaum overlooking the Sea of Galilee as she shares about the importance of our prayer life as we strive to live as disciples of Christ.
Capernaum from AnGeL Ministries on Vimeo.
Is God silent in your life? What prayers has He not answered for you?
At a time of unanswered prayer in my life years ago, my mother taught me the verse to a hymn that I still quote when I am totally baffled by events that seem to careen out of the orbit of what I have asked:
Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,
Trust Him when thy strength is small,
Trust Him when to simply trust Him,
Seems the hardest thing of all.
Is your focus on your immediate need blinding you to a greater purpose that God is working out? Would you choose to be patient and simply trust Him? Sometimes God does not answer our immediate prayer because He has something greater in store for us.
Have you wondered, in agony, why God is doing what He’s doing? Why He has delayed answering your prayer? Have you reacted to the delay by trying to help Him out and speed things up? Have you turned to . . . a doctor, a lawyer, a counselor, a friend, pop psychology, a neighbor’s sympathetic ear, or a popular TV talk show? Have you resorted to threats or bargaining or manipulation until you’re totally exhausted? Have you come to the absolute end of your rope?
One reason God may be delaying His answer to your prayer and postponing His intervention in your situation is to bring you to the end of your own resources. Sometimes God waits in order to allow us time to exhaust every other avenue of help until we finally realize without any doubt or reservation that we are totally helpless without Him.
