Several years ago, someone gave me a prayer box. Since I was a new believer at the time, I
really didn’t understand what it was for or how to use it, so I didn’t give it
much thought. Over the course of time, occasionally, when I would find myself
going through a difficult or painful challenge in my life, I would write out my
prayer request, put it in the box, and then forget about it. Recently, I pulled down the prayer box,
dusted it off, and started reading through my requests. There weren’t many, about 15, but as I read
through them, I realized that God had answered every one of them. Sometimes the
answer was what I asked for, other times it wasn’t, but was instead something
much better than what I could have imagined at the time. As I read through each one and saw how the
Lord answered them, I am filled with awe, gratitude and love, knowing just how
much He cares for me, and that He heard my cries.
As I reflect on the ways God answered me, I am learning more
about Him and seeing how His Word is so true and so trusted. I had a few
requests that were basically the same, but were asked differently each time. I
asked for a good, rewarding job, with health benefits. The Lord answered that 15 months ago, when I
got the job that I am at now. I am
amazed because I wrote some minor details about how I wanted my job to be, and this
job pretty much has all that I asked. Another request was for an end to my
years of loneliness and to provide me a Godly husband. This one blows me away. When I look at my husband, I can’t believe
just how good God is. He really did give me the desires of my heart. The person God chose for me is perfect in
every way, and little things that I continue to observe proves that God really
does know who or what’s best for us. This answer to my prayer took longer than
I wanted, but I know it was because I wasn’t walking fully in line with the
Lord or His commandments. Once I completely put God first in my life, and
walked in obedience, did God finally answer this prayer.
Was it the prayer box that made God answer my prayers? Did
it hold some powers that miraculously turned my prayers into reality? No, I believe
that it was because I earnestly sought Him, believed that He would hear me, and
had faith that He would answer me. 1 John 5:14 says “Now this is the confidence
that we have in Him, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us”. I
also believe persistence played an important part; I didn’t just ask once and
give up, I kept asking. Jesus taught His disciples in His parable about the
persistent widow, that they “always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke
18:1-8). Also important, I believe that it was having a repentant heart
and walking in obedience, that God answered my prayers (Psalms 66:18).
One of the stories in the bible that touches my heart and
shows me how much God is moved by our prayers is the story of King Hezekiah. He
is one of my favorite persons in the bible and I can’t wait to meet him in
heaven. He was a mighty king who loved God and was very zealous for Him; he “did
what was good and right and faithful before the Lord” (2 Chronicles 31:20). He boldly tried to eradicate false worship in Judah,
destroying all the false idols and pagan alters and temples, and brought back a
revival of true and pure worship of the Lord (2 Chronicles 29-32). Later in his
life, he had become very sick, and the prophet Isaiah had told him to get
things ready because he was going to die. Hezekiah immediately turned to the Lord in
prayer, and he wept bitterly. Before Isaiah even left the building, the Lord answered
his prayer. The Lord told Isaiah that He
was going to heal Hezekiah and extend his life 15 years (2 Kings 20:1-6). I
remember reading this story a couple of years ago, and it brought tears to my
eyes. Hezekiah’s story touched me for several reasons. Here is this mighty, valiant king who loved the Lord and wasn’t ashamed to openly worship Him and do things
that were considered unpopular or “politically incorrect” for his time. He
boldly and unashamedly started tearing down pagan alters and destroying idols.
Can you imagine what would happen if we started doing that today? And as mighty
or powerful as he was, Hezekiah wasn’t ashamed to weep bitterly before the Lord,
nor was he too manly or proud to ask for more time on this earth. But what touched me the most were God’s words,
“I have heard your prayer, and seen your
tears, surely I will heal you” (2 Kings 20:5). What comfort I get from
reading this! Our God loves us and hears us. He knows all of our needs, pains,
fears, and He wants to help us. Nothing is too small or too big for our God. Nothing.
During my reflection, I also realized that when we pray on
the behalf of others, God hears us.
Another prayer request had been for a co-worker who had been falsely
accused and unjustly fired from his job. I prayed that the Lord would take care
of his needs and bless him with a better job. About a year or two later, I
found out that he had found a very good and high paying job, much better than
the part-time job he had before. This was a powerful reminder to me that we
should never give up on praying for others. Even though we may not see the
final outcome, or feel that anything is happening because we aren’t seeing changes,
God is in control, and He is working behind the scenes, in His timing, to answer,
according to His will. This is
encouraging to me. We all have people that we pray for, and sometimes it feels
like the situation might be hopeless because we aren’t seeing any results. I
myself feel like this at times. There are certain painful situations I have been
praying for, and I catch myself feeling hopeless and that it is too big for God
to handle because I am not seeing instantaneous results. But I am reminded by examples in the bible,
or my past answered prayers, that God does hear and will answer, but in His timing,
and His way. This means I will have to wait and trust in Him, and not give up
in prayer or in hope.
I encourage you to never give up either. We can encourage and build up each other by
continually praying for one another (James 5:6) and bearing each other’s burdens
(Galatians 6:2). We can’t do it alone, and just knowing we have others in the
faith praying for us when we don’t have the strength ourselves to pray is uplifting
and encouraging. We may have prayers
that we can’t even articulate in words because they are too painful, or we are
too ashamed or embarrassed, but trust that God knows our heart and every detail
that we can’t express (Psalms 56:8). He is the God of comfort, and will indeed
comfort us in our trials, so that we may be able to comfort those in trials of
their own. If you need someone to
partner with you in prayer, please feel free to contact me.
God bless you.
Gabby
“Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all
comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort
those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are
comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our
consolation also abounds through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 3-5
