September 22, 2024 – Do You Trust God to Answer Your Prayer?
1 Kings 18:41-44
Sermon: 2499 A Praying Church
Pray Over This
“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.’ So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ So he went up and looked, and said, ‘There is nothing.’ And seven times he said, ‘Go again.’ Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, ‘There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!’ So he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, “Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.”’”
1 Kings 18:41-44
Ponder This
We need to keep praying until God rains down on us. Here was a man who knocked and kept knocking—and that’s what we need to do. If God doesn’t answer your prayer, just keep praying. That brings up the question of how long we should continue to pray. You continue to knock until you have the answer in your hand or in your heart, or until God says no. If you have the answer in your hand, you don’t have to keep asking. Now, you may have the answer in your heart, and God may say, “I have heard your prayer. Wait on Me.”
I once had a deep prayer request concerning some of my loved ones. I tried to tell God how to do it, but He would not let me instruct Him. One day, He said to me, “Adrian, you trust Me. I’m going to take care of it. I have heard your prayer.” Now it took a while, but I had the answer in my heart.
Sometimes God will just simply say no. Why? Because He doesn’t love us? No, because He does love us. The answer may be direct; the answer may be different; the answer may be delayed. But God answers prayer.
- Why do we fail to continue in prayer before God?
- When have you struggled with waiting for God’s answer to your prayer? What did you do? What did you learn?
Practice This
Talk with a friend about how he or she responds when God doesn’t answer prayer quickly or as we desire.
For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org.
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