Answered Prayer
When I hear the words, they automatically catch my attention. And when I think more on it, we don’t hear them near enough.
Prayer Requests, yes...
Prayer Answers, not so much.
Maybe it is the way we’ve been trained; at our bible studies, small groups, Sunday school classes… it's often one of the opening questions... “Are there any prayer requests?” No doubt it was/is encouraged by Jesus himself...
Ask, Knock, Seek (Matthew 7:7)
You have not because you ask not. (John 16:24)
In no way would I want to imply we aren’t to ask or that somehow we could ask to much. It seems the delight of the Father that we come to Him with our hopes, concerns, hurts, requests. The question rises within me... How intent is my prayer that I am not watchful, expectant, paying attention as to how God will move, answer, arrange for its answer?
I remember hearing God answers prayer in 1 of 4 ways...
Yes
No
Not Yet
I've Got a Better Idea
The older I get, the more intent the prayers and the more time I am giving to walk in the mystery of the Good God is up to in my life. I am learning to survey my life and connecting circumstances and events, phone calls coming in and prompts to call out, my thought life is under surveillance... most of the time. Like so many things in life, the more I practice the better I get.
I’m not sure the ratio or requests to answers will ever be 1:1 in my journey, but I would so love to see it more balanced than it is. Certainly, God putting this whole written expression on me to share is part of what He wants to share with me. More than that, I continue to learn, the answer He wants most is Him.
"Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord,
Jeremiah 29:12-14
Over the past few months, Zoweh has been going through some huge changes—NEW team-members moving to town, NEW initiatives with The Heart of a Warrior YouVersion Devotionals, NEW database to better connect with our friends and allies, and a NEW website that rolled out yesterday. All of these things, these prayer requests from the past, are wildly coming into our story. Each request God has answered, I've Got a Better Idea.
Thank you for praying over the past 6-8 months for these requests and so many more. The answers are as weighty as our requests, and the way God has made good on these things is more amazing than I ever imagined. We invite you to celebrate with us for a moment and lean in for the next set of requests trusting our Father in heaven knows very well how to give good and perfect gifts. God wants to be found.
Let’s pray...
Dear God, Holy Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we praise your name and declare your glory above all things. You are worthy, you are wonderful, you reign over all creation with power and strength, beauty, and intention. Thank you for writing us into your story, for giving each of us a part to play, and for wanting us. We are honored and so grateful that you, the Creator of the heavens and earth, want to be found by us.
Father, we confess, we ask often but don’t often see what you are up to in our lives, how you are weaving the story together and the ways in which you are answering the concerns, cries, and hopes of our hearts. We ask for a deeper work within us, one that would allow and encourage us to see your answers more often and more often turn to you in amazement because we know... we know you are answering. Then we praise you and live to tell the stories of how you come, how you provide, how you have a better idea and that what you have whispered to us in intimate moments will transform us as your sons and daughters.
Jesus, thank you for showing us and inviting us to be in intimate relationship with the Father. Thank you for all you have done to win us to yourself, to accomplish our freedom, and to move sin out of the way so we can see and hear and experience your love. We thank you Jesus for giving your life in order that we might come to life. Thank you for your Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension—the fullness of your work on our behalf—and now sharing your power and authority with us... we claim your work, and we claim your power and authority this day. We choose to look, seek, ask, and knock for you today amidst all that concerns us, all that we are hopeful for that we might know you and your amazing life, today. Fill us once again with Life... fill us with your love, Jesus, and grant us the eyes to see and ears to hear your movement in our lives.
Jesus, we celebrate all the good you have been and are up to at Zoweh. We pray your blessing over the mission and ministry of Zoweh, the new team, website, database and more. Thank you for extending the Kingdom throughout the world through the Zoweh books, resources, and devotionals. Guide us Jesus to the next marker on the journey, to the next battle you want us to fight, and to the next resting place we can enjoy time away with you.
Holy Spirit, we deeply want to know you, see you, and be connected to you in glorious ways. Thank you that you are always at work on our behalf and that we can partner with you in the growing up of us. We pray that we can grow in our ability to see and hear your movement in our hearts. We give you permission to reign and rule in our hearts this day, to guide, counsel, and teach us the Kingdom ways, and grow up in us the ways in which we can partner with you to see restoration and transformation brought to this story.
Jesus, we declare your glory and grace over our lives this day. We receive all the blessings of a Life with you and from you this day. We bring the power and glory of your Kingdom over and against all foul spirits and all the work of the kingdom of darkness set against us this day. We pray against distraction and depression, we pray against accusation, guilt, and fear, we pray against all spiritual forces set against our seeing and hearing God at work in our lives. Dear God, give us eyes to see and ears to hear any agreements we have made with our enemy, any false thing that is at work against us that we can turn over, be healed, be transformed by the power of the Cross defeating any and all things in the way of experiencing intimacy with you.
We know and confess that we need more healing and more training and we turn to you, God, to show us where, when, and how. More than anything, we call to you in order to find you because you, God, are the greatest treasure of all, the greatest gift of all, and the greatest provider of good and perfect gifts. All this we pray in the matchless name of Jesus.
Amen and AMEN.