I woke up today with a piercing pain that rattled my bones and disturbed the beat of my heart. It sent my whirling thoughts on a frantic ride searching for a way to address the agony. It sent me scurrying to find relief for the agonizing realization that there are millions of Christians on this planet who have heard and believed this LIE: “God would NEVER listen to MY prayers.”
Most of my pain comes from seeing so many people separated from God’s singular and profound TRUTH that seeks to smother the LIE:
God PROMISES to listen to, and answer, our prayers.
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son…” John 14:13
If we assume God is not listening and cannot answer our prayers, we are questioning his omnipotence. If we assume God will not answer because he is not listening, we are questioning his mercy and grace.
In both of those cases, we have put faith in our own judgment, not in God.
Our faith rockets into the stratosphere if we KNOW God is listening to our prayers and WILL answer them. But our faith plunges if we DECIDE (on our own) that God is not listening and will never answer.
Prayer is like a metal detector on the Bible’s vast beach of treasures that are just waiting to be discovered. But faith in God’s PRAYER PROMISE is not a tool to just obtain what we want. That means many situations call for our SUBMISSION to God even when there is uncertainty. It is having the kind of faith that aligns our prayers with God’s sovereignty–trusting him whether he says yes, no, or not now to our request.
Failure to SUBMIT in this way makes our faith in God’s PRAYER PROMISE a tool to gain something instead of looking to God’s love and grace as the gateway to answered prayer. And if we start hanging out in that room, it won’t be long before we’ve taken Satan’s bait and believed the lie that God is not listening to our prayers and, therefore, could never answer them.
I ask God to give me the courage to pray every day no matter how I feel or what the circumstances of my life might be at any given time. To help me to have faith in his PRAYER PROMISE so I can pray in faith with certainty that he is listening and will answer.
WHAT ABOUT YOU
Do you fully believe that God HEARS your prayers and wants to ANSWER them?
“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Ephesians 3:12
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
