And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. ~1 John 5:14-15
Please know that the title of this blog post isn’t meant to make us feel guilty! It’s to encourage us to notice, to really pay attention to, the answered prayers in our lives.
I’ve had a couple of specific answers to prayers in the last few weeks. These were situations related to our children over which I had no control. It was going to be up to God to take care of these requests (and clearly He’s much better at that than I am!)
Sometimes I’m guilty of two things related to answered prayer.
1) Not taking the time to stop and thank God for it.
2) Thinking, “Oh, that was such a small thing.” Or, “Well, that would’ve happened whether I prayed about it or not.”
Have you ever thought that way? In my own life, I want to make a bigger deal out of answered prayer.
Here are three reasons why.
1. Answered prayer gives us faith that other prayers we’re praying will be answered.
It’s important to stop and say, Look what God did! We know that he worked in answer to our prayer, and our faith grows.
Answered prayer encourages us to keep on praying about other things that He hasn’t answered yet. That’s certainly true in my current situation. I’m praying for something specific in my own life, and now I’m motivated to keep praying about it because of the prayers He just answered.
2. Answered prayer is a reminder that God allows us to partner with Him to accomplish things.
Obviously, God can work with or without our prayers, but isn’t it wonderful that He allows us to participate in fulfilling His plan?
We’re commanded in His Word to pray. God wants us to bring our requests to Him. What a privilege that when we do just that, we get the reward of seeing Him answer.
3. If we have unanswered prayers, we can trust that God knows what’s best and will answer in His time and in His way.
We’ve seen God answer prayer. We know that He has the power and the ability to accomplish anything.
So if it’s not happening now, it’s because He’s choosing not to answer what we’re praying for. We can get impatient. That’s where trust comes in. We know we’re praying to a good God who loves us like a Father. Trust His heart and continue to pray.
We may also need to ask God to change our prayer so that it lines up with His will. He alone is sovereign. Let’s ask Him to open our hearts to what He may be trying to do through our prayers.
Let me know if there’s a prayer you’ve had answered lately or if there’s something you’d like me to join you in prayer for!
Related posts:
- 5 Bible Verses to Encourage You in Your Prayer Life
- What Hannah Teaches Me About Prayer
- Why Should I Pray?
I lovelovelove reveling in God’s answered prayers!!! He answered 3 little ones yesterday, (little to me, but I truly believe they’re all the same “level” to Him!) and I couldn’t help myself: I got right on Marco Polo (a free video texting app) to tell my 3 BFFs, b/c I was so full of praise!!! I’d like to say I respond that well to *every* answered prayer, but…
Praying with you for your kids, and so thankful to know you pray for mine, too! Pray specifically for healing in their severely-strained sibling relationship. Will will be moving out to college in 2 months, and I feel this desperate time crunch to bring them back into as much harmony as possible before he goes…
Thank you for sharing about your answered prayers!! And it’s often the “little” ones, I think, that we forget to praise Him for, so I’m glad you told your friends about those!
And thank you, sweet friend, for praying for my girls. I’ll definitely be praying for God to work in your kids’ lives, that He will give you wisdom in how to speak into their relationship and that He will turn their hearts toward each other.
I’ve never played pickleball, but my parents have courts next to them. (They don’t play.). And one of my daughters plays a couple times a month.
You’re right that noticing when God answers our prayers leads to greater faith in Him which is always a good thing. 😊
Yes it is 🙂 The longer we live, the more we can look back and see just how faithful He’s always been.