•1:15 PM
By: Tom Smith, Wooddale Church of Christ
One of the greatest tests of our faith is when we pray about an issue, and nothing happens.
We pray some more, and still nothing happens.
Let me say up front, there are some schools of thought that praying for something more than once shows a lack of faith.
I disagree with that conclusion since we have passages of scripture (Luke 18:1-8) that shows us persistent prayer is encouraged.
The fact is, prayer is simply a conversation we have with our heavenly Father. It is like talking to our best friend, which He is.
When we have a close relationship with someone, we may ask them to do something for us and it is done. We might only ask once, and it gets done. There are some things, especially when it comes to husbands and wives, or children, that we have to ask 5..10...20 times to get it done.
We have all been there I am sure.
So it is with our relationship with God.
We may share a need with God and almost immediately it is taken care of.
However, there may be some issues we pray about over, and over, and over, for a long period of time before it is taken care of.
But there are also some issues that we pray about for long periods of time that are never resolved.
It is at these times that we must trust God.
While the Bible clearly tells us to ask God for the desires of our heart, and we should do that, we must always pray with the heart Jesus did.
He said, "not my will, but thy will be done."
Jesus understood that His life was totally surrendered to God.
It was God's life to use as He saw fit.
God's plans may not always be our plans.
It is at those times, we must set-aside our desires for His.
As we grow spiritually, we actually come to the place Jesus was when we understand each day that our life belongs totally to God and our desires must be His desires.
Hear this one more time.
OUR DESIRES, MUST BECOME HIS DESIRES!
Be like the widow (Luke 18:1-8) and not be afraid to remind God over and over of the great needs that you have in your life.
There is nothing wrong with reminding God.
Always remember what Jesus said "Lord, not my will, but thy will be done."
Trust God enough to not worry when He is silent, after all, God's plans are always better than our plans.
While our plans don't always work out the way we expect, God's plans ALWAYS work out perfectly.
The fact is, God is NEVER silent.
He is simply waiting for His perfect timing to show you the right plan to meet your needs.
