Tag: Answered Prayer

Read: Psalm 5 ESV – Lead Me in Your Righteousness – To the – Bible Gateway

“Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.” Psalm 5:1-2 ESV

King David’s enemies were spreading lies about him to destroy him. The rumor mill had it that David was no longer fit to be king. God had abandoned him, and it was said David’s ability to protect the nation was in doubt. But David says in his prayer to God, “For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave.” (Ps.5:9 esv) David appeals to God’s character in this psalm he wrote knowing that God will never abandon him and will answer his prayer.

David begins by crying out to God in Hebrew parallel form repeating the same thought three times. ‘Give ear…consider…give attention’ David expresses his desire for God to hear his prayer and consider his groaning by giving attention to his cry. He comes before God the first thing in the morning with his petitions. He calls on God to hold his enemies guilty (Ps.5:10) and to bestow blessings on the righteous. (Ps.5:11) David is confident in the Lord’s answer of blessing to his prayer as we see in the closing verse, “For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.” (Ps.5:12 esv)

So, we can have the same confidence that God will answer us as He did David when he cried out to Him in prayer. It’s OK to appeal to God by repeating our cry. That is crying out to God. Ask Him to hear your words, and consider your groaning through it, and to give attention to the sound of your cry. Our God wants us to come to Him in prayer even when we cry out to Him.

“Then when you call, the LORD will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.” Isaiah 58:9 NLT

Today’s devotional is light-hearted with an experience I’m sure a lot of us go through. There are times when we need an immediate answer. Urgent matters required a quick response. But what about needing a quick response that is not critical, but only to your timetable. It can be frustrating waiting for an answer or getting the run around as your request for service gets passed around only to wind up back where you started. Yes, our time is precious and valuable, and we don’t want to waste it, but living in an imperfect world we are going to have delays and needless waste of time can be expected.

I experienced such an incident this week. With an already full daily schedule, a scheduled appointment for a quick fix at the car dealership turned out to more than a quick fix but not fixed at all. I got caught up between two car dealerships and a third-party service provider as to who will fix it. I’m not complaining (really,) the problem will be resolved, but I was frustrated with the amount of extra time I spent reaching out to the other parties. Living in a day when communication is so much faster it sure took me a long time to finally convince Chatbot that I needed to speak to a representative. Chatbot wasn’t programmed for this unique dilemma.

What a comfort it is to know that when we call upon God, He will answer and quickly. To be fair to Chatbot, it answered quickly, but only had programed answers for the most common problems, not my unusual circumstance. God has all the answers all the time, and He needs no reprogramming or updates. He is the original programmer of all things, and He is quick to reply.  

Read: Daniel 10:1-13 NLT – Daniel’s Vision of a Messenger – In – Bible Gateway

“Then he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.’” Daniel 10:12 NLT

Have you even doubted if God hears your prayers? Do you get the feeling your prayers are only reaching the ceiling? Has it been days, weeks, or months, and you still haven’t gotten an answer? You begin to say to yourself, ‘did God even hear me?’ You can rest assured He has, and we have a story in the Old Testament book of Daniel that proves it.

The prophet Daniel was desperately waiting for an answer to his prayer concerning the vision he had just witnessed. He was in mourning and confused by what he saw and was seeking an answer. Daniel knew that it involved his people, the children of Israel, and it was a future event. He sought an answer, but it did not come. Daniel did not eat or drink for three weeks. Then one day as he was standing on the bank of the Tigris River, Daniel got his answer and was told why it was delayed.

The Lord sent his messenger to Daniel with the first words being, “Daniel, you are very precious to God.” (Dan.10:11 nlt) The Lord God did not forget Daniel but assured him how much he was loved by God. Sometimes we all need to be reminded that God loves us and hasn’t forgotten us. He does care for us and desires that close relationship with us. It is God’s desire to answer our prayers in what He knows is best for us.

The messenger then told Daniel his prayer was heard on the first day he petitioned God in prayer. What an encouragement for us who doubt at times if God has ever heard us. He has. Not only did the messenger assure Daniel that his prayer was heard, but that it was answered the same day. As we seek God, know for sure He hears our prayers and will answer us according to His will as we seek Him.

Read: Daniel 2:17-30 NLT – Then Daniel went home and told his – Bible Gateway

“Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret.” Daniel 2:17-18a NLT

One of the blessings of belonging to a Church is the prayer support provided by the church family. Close Christian friends outside your church family are also a blessing with their prayers. Even those we don’t know but have received our requests for prayer from another source are God’s blessings to us in our time of need. Prayer to the Lord God is our only hope when we have an urgent need. What a comfort it is to be supported by prayer with our friends and church family.

Daniel had an urgent need. He had just returned from asking King Nebuchadnezzar for time to reveal the king’s dream. Daniel’s pagan counterparts failed the king by not being able to fulfill his request by telling him his dream. Nebuchadnezzar had ordered the death of all the wise men in his service, including Daniel, for their failure. Upon returning home, Daniel confided in his three best friends what had happened and what would happen if the king’s request was not fully answered. Daniel asked his prayer partners to support him in prayer.

Whatever our need, especially the urgent, may we not neglect to seek others for prayer. It doesn’t need to be a whole congregation; a few close friends will do. Jesus says, “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” (Mt.18:20 nlt) Daniel asked his three friends to support him in prayer, they prayed, and the Lord answered their request that night. May we not hold back in asking others God has placed in our lives to support us in prayer.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15 NIV

Waiting for an answer from someone could lead to impatience if you do not know that person well. If there is a delay, you may begin questioning yourself if the one you’re waiting for an answer ever got your request. Did my email or text go through? Was I clear to my intentions for the request? Perhaps they sent me a response and I missed it, or it went in my spam folder. When it’s not in my spam folder and haven’t received an answer in a reasonable amount of time, I convince myself that my request was never received, or they would have answered. But then in a day or two I receive the answer. I created those impatient moments on my own for no good reason, but even more concerning is when I create impatient moments when I make my requests known to God.

We never need to worry if God hears our requests in our prayers. He does. The apostle John tells us we can have the confidence that He hears us, but he adds this, “that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1Jn.5:14b niv) According to His will is not always something we like to hear. It would be better, so we think, if it was according to our will, that’s why we’re asking. But the Lord knows what is best for us and will only do what is best for us. If we haven’t received the answer we want from the Lord, perhaps the request went into His spam folder, oh He knows it’s there, but it’s not according to His will.

Be assured that God hears and will answer every request in every prayer to Him according to His will and in His timing. We need not worry if it is directed to His spam folder. God will delete them and will not grant you what is not His will for you. But know this, “if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1Jn.5:15 niv) We always have God’s best for us and that includes deleting the spam mail we send them.

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24 NIV

How frustrating it is to be waiting for an answer. Depending on your circumstances the frustration level will vary. Waiting for the results of a medical procedure will increase your anxiety. A slow response from a potential employer will overshadow other job opportunities to be explored. Anticipation builds as you wait to receive your final grades towards your goal of graduation from a major university. Wouldn’t it be nice to receive our answers in a timely manner, better yet, to have them beforehand? Before we schedule that medical test, before we take that final exam, or before we apply for that position. Well, it is possible when we bring our requests before the Lord.

There are several passages in Scripture concerning God’s hearing and answering prayers. Isaiah writes that the Lord says, “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” (Is.65:24 niv) God is saying before we even ask Him in prayer, the answer is already on the way. As Jesus taught His disciples to pray, he told them, “….  for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Mt.6:8 niv) Before the thought of what we need to ask for comes to our mind, the Lord is already aware. David writes in Psalm 139, “You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.” (Ps.139:4 nlt) God knows everything we think and are going to say before we say it, especially in prayer. The Lord heard and answered King Hezekiah’s prayer as he was told he was about to die. “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.’” (Is.38:5 niv) Hezekiah did not need to wait very long for an answer. It came rather quickly.

Now there may be times when the answers to our prayers do not come immediately. But that is not an indication that God did not hear or did not answer. One of God’s answers to us is not one we like to hear, but He did answer. The answer is ‘wait.’ We can be confident that God hears and answers our prayers. Yes, sometimes we need to wait for the answer to arrive, but the Lord has already answered that prayer before we even called on Him.