Answers To Prayer
Whether you pray all the time or rarely, I think anyone can take a step back and look at their prayer habits. I took this week to really think about how I pray and what I need to change about my response to God’s answers.
Too often, I find myself praying for change, but then am unwilling to be the change.
How often do we pray and expect anyone else but us to be the answer to that prayer?
“Dear God, I pray for the homeless that they will be able to get support and shelter.” Then when God gives us an opportunity to answer our own prayer, we often miss it. This is something that I have been recently working on and I want to be open in discussing it with you. I share posts on instagram about other nations in need of help, but yet I don’t make the efforts to be God’s hands and feet. I ask how people’s days are, but the idea of stopping right there and praying for them makes me anxious.
When I was younger, it always amazed me that God can hear everyone’s prayers all at the same time. Whether I prayed out loud at the dinner table or I was praying in my head at school, God was always there. Even now, it is still hard for me to comprehend, but that’s okay.
God’s omnipotent power is not for me to understand, it is for me to be in awe of.
Deuteronomy 4:7, “What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to Him?” Those words are so encouraging to me! Our God is so great that He not only hears our prayers, but He can put the tools in our hands to answer them. I encourage you to write down some talents and skills you have. Those are the tools that God has purposefully designed for you! I have been learning to use my talents to be the answer to prayers in God’s timing. I say this not to guilt you or to discourage you from praying at all, but to shed light on something that has been on my heart.
Mark 11:24, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins.” When I am praying for change to happen, I have to believe God has given me the tools to accomplish the change. This all sounds great, but how does one apply this or make it happen?
In my earlier example about praying for the homeless, I can take a look at my talents and see how I can be the answer to that prayer. I like being creative and making things, so I could sew blankets or bags to donate to homeless shelters. I like cooking so I could volunteer at a local food shelf. This is just one example of how I could answer one of my own prayers. I encourage you to break down what you pray about and how you can use those talents to be that change.
How can you be willing to be the answer to your own prayers?
How can you be an answer to someone else’s prayers?
How can you see your talents/ characteristics answering prayers?
