Sometimes it is easy to see when God answers prayer. It is immediate and pretty much just about to smack you in the face. Other times, you forget that you asked, or you just forget that He answers prayers. Or He is working through you or through a situation to answer prayers. Sometimes it is easy to chalk it up to your own efforts or just to say a great thing happened. Sometimes God answers our prayers, but not answering them at all…. (deep right?)
Our prayers count, our life counts, the prayers of our parents, friends, relatives, they all count. Things change due to prayer.
Luke 11:1-13
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'" Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
When my sisters and I were younger we begged and begged for a snake. My mom, now wanting a snake in her house, got us an iguana instead. The Iguana had to eat ever day (as opposed to once a week), pooped every day (again not once a week) and was an escape artist! He could get out of anything that we put him in getting out of our house sometimes. The iguana wasn’t more dangerous than the snake, but it did create more work for my parents and make our upstairs smell bad- it also gave us a good sense of responsibility and we loved that silly escaping artist. We got a reptile because we were bold and continued to ask.
It wasn’t exactly what we asked for, but it made us very happy. Sometimes God just knows what is best. He knows that maybe we can’t handle the “snake”. There are lot of responsibilities with a snake like feed it live prey or if it got out, it could hurt us. God knows what we can handle because he is our Father. He knows what we can and when we can handle specific responsibilities.
“Ask and it will be give to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Thank God that He knows what you can handle!
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