God always hears our prayers, and He always answers them. The way He responds to them is meant to increase our faith. The Bible also explains that if we delight in Him, He will give us our heart's desires. Now God's ways are not ours, and His eternal timeline may diverge from our "here and now" mindset. So how do we know when God answers our prayers?
Today the kids and I read a story in Luke 17. Some lepers, ten in fact, are crying out to Jesus - praying to Him - for mercy. Jesus responds with a command, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." Without hesitation, they obey. On the way, they were all healed; one turned around to show worship and show gratitude to Jesus. He remembered who had answered his prayer and his faith was increased because of this.
We need to remember our prayers so we can thank God when He answers. If we receive a delayed blessing and forget that we asked for it, we cannot obtain the full benefit. God's response to my prayers seems to often be, "Hold fast and wait to see what I will do." During that waiting period I can often forget my urgent prayers and then take it for granted when I do receive my request. I forget to go back and fall at Jesus' feet and thank Him.
Often, it is not circumstances that need changing, but my desires. I need to fully delight in Him and then my heart's desires will be His. My heart needs molding; my attitude needs transforming. I don't fully realize the changes God has made in my heart in response to lifting my desires to Him. The reworking is so slight and slow, I fail to notice and praise the Lord.
God had the children of Israel build monuments and altars to help them remember how the Lord helped them. Their children would ask, "What is that pile of stones by the Jordan River?" And their parents would have the opportunity to relate the story of the river drying up for them to cross. The stories would be passed down through the generations.
So what can I do to make sure I remember my prayers and my faith can grow by seeing God's faithfulness. Sometimes, I remember through stories. The kids all know how God provided for the three of us plus our dog Maiden as we traveled around the United States during my fourth year of medical school. They remember our four month wait for a house with a garden in Bangkok and how God fulfilled that promise. We recount these parts of our family history as a remembrance, as a monument, as a thanksgiving.
I thank God as I am making a request. I try to model my prayers after Philippians 4:6 "with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." I thank Him for His response before it comes, knowing that it will be the best decision for me. Of course, I want to remember to thank Him after as well, so I sometimes write down my prayers. If I have certain strong desires that I am waiting for God to fulfill, I record them. This way I can see how God changes my heart and how He answers in amazing ways beyond my grandest hopes.
Pray, wait, remember, praise so our faith will increase as God does great and wondrous works.
No comments:
Post a Comment