Part 1 - Prayer/Trust

Part 1, Prayer, How it has been answered in our lives...

 

How do we know God is listening? Many of us go through periods in our lives when it seems like God is nowhere to be found, but he is there perhaps waiting for us to come to a point of surrender before he responds.

I love the following verse and think it speaks volumes about how we are to pray and trust.

John 14:14 New International Version (NIV)

You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

It’s pretty self-explanatory, but to me it means that I need to surrender my will to God, I need to align my will with his in such a way that I am asking according to his purposes. That’s a hard spot to get to. If things are tough at work, I want a change now. When we were told we couldn’t have kids, we wanted answers now. When my dad and my wife were on their death beds I wanted healing, never mind what served God’s purpose most.

Early on in my dad’s cancer journey, I remember a voice, which I believe to have been the Holy Spirit saying to me, pray for God’s strength not healing. About 8 months later God took dad home. What honored him most was taking dad home. You see dad allowed God to shine through him during his journey. That may not have been the case if he were healed, but we all know that it`s harder to allow God to shine when things are going well for us.

Through this and other life events I have learned to seek God`s will and ask in his name and according to his purposes, do I always, no, but I believe that is what we are asked to do. I have also prayed for healing when I have felt led to, but it`s rare and usually is followed by, but according to your will and purposes.

Taking things to God in prayer, even daily things has been a learning process for us as has been trusting him with the outcome. I am guilty of exhausting many options before trying God out, but he says…..Matthew 17:20 (NIV) says, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move.

More to follow on prayer from my life experiences………….