This is the third and final installment on a sermon I heard recently on getting your prayers answered. The first week we covered reasons why your prayers might not be getting answered. Last week we talked about waiting on the Lord and God's perfect timing.
We also need to have a practical faith in God. Matthew 21:22 says And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. When you pray for something, do you believe God will actually answer you? It seems like a dumb question to ask, but think about it. Are you ever surprised when you get an answer to prayer? Why? Is He God or not? Does He mean what He says or not? You can have perfect faith in Him that He will fulfill His promises.
You can also know your prayers are going to be answered if you are asking after God's will. We may be asking for something that's good and right and makes perfect sense to us. But does it fit in with God's will for our lives? Is it truly something that would be best for us? So how do we know God's will? I think many people try to make discerning God's will difficult or mystical, but there's no secret code. The more you know your husband, the more you know what he wants and what pleases him. It's the same with God. If you're spending time reading and studying His Word, if you're spending time in prayer with Him, He'll make His will easy for you to recognize and follow.
When you are in the center of God's will, there is a perfect peace. John 15:7 tells us, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. You can rest in Him. You can have perfect peace. What it boils down to is this: you can trust Him. He only wants what's best for you.
Finally, a pattern of obedience to God's Word will help to get your prayers answered. This is according to I john 3:22. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
Is God's Word true? Are His promises real? Then what are you waiting for? Start getting your prayers answered!
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Hi Jill,
ReplyDeleteI think it's so easy for us to mix our will and desires for God's will. Because we're inherently so self-centered and because our culture really fosters that selfish nature, many times we think we're acting in God's will, but really we're just doing what we want! Therefore when our prayers seem to fall back to the ground, we grow disillusioned with God. When in reality if we truly come to know him and his will, we'll find out that much of it isn't within our comfort zone!
The hardest part for me is when it comes to others' wills being involved. My most important prayers are for things that I know would be God's will such as a loved one's salvation or a wayward person coming back to God. I know that God wants that, too. But, I know that He will not force people. I also know that "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water, He turneth it whithersoever He will." Sometimes I am just not sure if I have much faith in some of these types of situations. God has been speaking to me about faith recently; so, this was a blessing to me. Thanks, Jill!
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