When circumstances arise that we need God to act, we pray. We pray for Him to heal our sick family, sell our house, protect our children, lead us to find a new job, and the list goes on, but you get the picture.
Now, we pray for these things like we want Him to answer, to come through for us when we really need Him. So, my question is why are we so surprised to see Him when He shows up?
We look for every earthly reason as to why circumstances change, why our sick family is all the sudden better when the doctors said it was impossible or would take much longer than it did, or why a job suddenly came through, and so on. So, why is it that we do not immediately know that it was a result of prayer, of God moving in our lives through our act of worship?
In Matthew 21:21-22 Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
As I sit here I am feeling very convicted. There are so many times I have prayed and much to my surprise the circumstances improved. Then I sit there wondering why & how it happened. Hello Heather! It's God! The same God that you prayed to, the same God that parted the Red Sea, the same God that kept Daniel safe in the Lion's Den! He is the same God now as He was then! He may not literally be moving a real mountain, but He is moving what seems like a mountain to us.
Although we are to believe Him for what we ask, we are not the first generation to show lack of faith in answered prayer. Do you remember Peter's miraculous escape from Prison? The story is found in the book of Acts, chapter 12 and goes like this...
King Herod arrested James and ordered him to be killed by a sword. He saw that this pleased the Jewish people so he proceeded to arrest Peter. Herod imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
Now notice, the church was earnestly praying for Peter. Okay, here is where it gets real good...
The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.
Did you read that? The chains fell off of Peter's wrists! Let's see what happens next...
The angel ordered Peter to get dressed and put on his sandals & his coat. He then led Peter past the guards and out of the iron gate as it opened by itself. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
Peter proceeded to go to the home of Mary where many were gathered for prayer (they were praying for Peter). He knocked at the door, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”
Okay, here is where it gets all too familiar...you know, the part where the prayer has been answered, but there has to be another explanation.
"You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.
Why were they so amazed? How many times are we amazed & astonished when God answers our prayers? How many times do we give up when we think that we are past the point of no return? Peters friends prayed all the way up until the day that Herod was going to execute him. He was already captured and sure to be executed. But, they continued to pray. You would think that if they were continuing to pray that they would not be surprised when Peter knocked on the door. After all, that is what they were praying for.
Don't be surprised when God answers your prayer even when it seems too late. He is answering prayers in my life even as I sit here this morning. I ask Him now to help me recognize His presence in my circumstances and to not question or be surprised by my prayers being answered. I thank Him for continuing to be here & hearing my prayers even though He has already given me all I need.
In Matthew 19:26 Jesus said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” So, when you go to Him in prayer, have faith that He can answer that prayer...even in humanly impossible situations.
