November 19, 2012
Do You Expect God to Answer Your Prayers?
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. - Psalm 5:3 NIV
Friend to Friend
Have you ever prayed about something, but didn’t really expect God to answer…I mean really expect it. That happened to a bunch of Peter’s friends.
In the early years of the church, King Herod had many Christians murdered and many more put in prison. James, the brother of John, was put to death with the sword, and Peter was thrown into prison.
The night before Peter was to be taken to trial, a group gathered at Mary’s (John’s mother’s) house to pray for him. While they were praying, there was a knock at the door. A servant girl named Rhoda answered it.
“Who is there?” she asked.
“It is Peter,” the freed apostle answered.
She knew it was Peter—she recognized his voice! God had answered their prayers! Rhoda was so excited, she didn’t even let Peter in, but ran back to tell the group that he was standing at the door.
“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. “Maybe it is his angel.”
Peter kept knocking. Finally they opened the door and were astonished to see Peter alive and well, standing right in front of them.
Why were they surprised? Why didn’t they believe Rhoda? While they were praying for Peter’s release, they didn’t really expect God to free him. Do you see it? We can pray about a situation and miss the glory moment standing at the door because of unbelief and low expectations that God would actually answer.
Sometimes, I fear we have lowered our spiritual expectations to match the experiences of people we know, rather than what we read in the Bible. We look around and see what has occurred in the lives of other believers, and that’s where we set the bar. As a result, we lead mediocre lives, forfeiting the abundant life Jesus came to give.
Here’s what I want you to do today. Pray and then expect God to answer! I love what David wrote: In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly, (Psalm 5:3, NIV).
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I am bringing my prayers before you today. Forgive me for praying and not expecting You to answer. Here is my prayer: (Fill in this spot with you own prayer.) I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
If you don’t keep a prayer journal, consider getting one. This could be a simple notebook, or a cute bound blank book. The dollar store is a great place for cute little journals. Write down your prayer requests and then make a note as to how God answered and the date:
Yes. No. Wait.
Let’s pray for each other today. Log on to my blog page at www.sharonjaynes.com. Share your prayer request and then pray for the sisters’ comment entry above and below yours.
More from the Girlfriends
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