There is a sign on my prayer office wall that says, “God Answers Prayers”. I believe it. Do you?
I hear people say, “All we can do is pray.” I’ve heard it said, “I don’t want to pray. I want to do something!” This one also stands out, “I don’t have time to pray. I have too much work to do.” I hear these comments and my heart hurts.
If you truly believe God answers prayer, then you know that to pray is to ask God to step into the situation. God can do more than man ever dreamed of doing. God created the human body. He created the Universe and he knows and understands the battles we face more than we do ourselves!
To the one that wants to stop praying and do something, I can only say, “Please understand that there is absolutely nothing you can do or accomplish that will be greater than what God can do.” I understand that the answer God may bring is not always what we expected, hoped for, or anticipated. God’s ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We may not have the ability to understand God’s answer this side of heaven. But, that doesn’t mean he didn’t answer.
Earlier today, I read a short devotion that reminded me that the very pain we didn’t want helped shape us into who we are so that we were able to handle what we never could’ve without having walked through the pain. We cannot think that because we suffer, God isn’t answering prayers. Scripture tells us we will have trouble in this world. I watched my son walk through a time of tremendous pain in his life. I would not have wanted him to endure this. But, I watched him in the midst of the pain become a man of faith. I asked God to help him and to heal him. God certainly answered my prayer. That trial helped him become a man, a husband, and a father that he would not be except for the trial he went through.
We ask for healing for a loved one. You may be crying out to God for healing at the same time you are not really believing he can or will do it. God will bring healing. Every. Time. Will he heal them of the disease and restore them to exactly as before? I can’t tell you that will be his answer. But, will he heal the brokenness within them that you didn’t know was there? Will he heal them in such a way as to protect them from pain that you couldn’t even know was coming? Will he heal them in a way that brings them to have Salvation and to find joy in eternal life with him? Yes, God will heal them.
We cannot compare what we can do to what God can do. God can do immeasurably more than we can even imagine. If you really want to do something, Pray. Prayer invites God into your situation and after you pray, prepare to be amazed at the answers he will bring.
By Jacqui – One of God’s Intercessors