Many people think that when they pray for something they have to constantly remind God of their prayer over and over.

If they are not constantly saying, “God I pray that you will…”  or “God, I need…” that He is not hearing them.

Just because something does not happen immediately does not mean that God did not hear your prayer.

Just because the outcome does not turn out the way you wanted it to, does not mean that God has abandoned you, doesn’t listen or doesn’t care about you.

In Psalm 5:3 David says, “Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD.  Each morning I bring my requests and wait in expectancy.

It says that David waits in expectancy, if we pray and ask the same thing over and over, we are not allowing God the opportunity to do anything.  If at every moment we keep asking,  “God, when are you going to fix this?”; we are not giving God the opportunity to work.

I heard someone explain it like this:

Let’s say your child will be getting a license soon and they ask you if you will buy them a car when they finally get the license?

They say, “Will you buy me a car when I get my license?”

You reply, “Yes.”

An hour later they come back and ask, “Will you buy me a car when I get my license?”

Again, your reply is the same, “Yes.”

Ten minutes later they come back, “When are you going to buy that car for me?”

Another day passes, “When is that car going to be here?”

Many times we are the same way with God, we ask for something, but we really don’t believe that we will get it, because we keep asking, over and over.

We should be THANKING God that He is bringing about His will in our lives.  Even if we can’t see it, our ideas for what we want to have happen in our lives can often be our downfall.  When we start taking the trust away from God and putting it in ourselves, God will step back and let us do it.  I promise, we won’t get very far!  I have learned that it is better to give your troubles to the LORD, as the Bible says in Psalm 55:22 and 1 Peter 5:7.  It takes away so much stress from us.

I would much rather follow the path that God has for me.  Ephesians 3:20, tells us that God can do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or imagine!  If God can bring much greater things into your life then you can even imagine; why not let him lead you?

Jeremiah 29:11 says, ” ‘For I know the plans I have for you.’, declares the LORD.  ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’ “

Notice the scripture says, “I know the plans I have for you.”   The verse does not read, “YOU know the plans I have for you.”

Isaiah 55:8 says, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

You may say, “Well, I pray and pray, and it always seems like it takes so long for something to happen.  How do I even know that God hears me?  God is too busy to have the time to worry about my problems.”

Let me assure you that is not true!

Daniel 10 tells us that God sends a messenger to Daniel, but it takes some time for the messenger to arrive.  In verse 12, Daniel says: “Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.”

Proverbs 20:24 says, “The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?”

Sometimes what we are praying for is not necessarily God’s plan.  When something doesn’t happen in our time frame or turn out the way we want it; that does not always mean that we aren’t believing enough, or we aren’t praying the right way.  Sometimes it means that the timing is not right for God’s plan to come together; all of the pieces aren’t there to make everything work like it is supposed to.  Sometimes what we are praying for isn’t good for us or good for others; even if we can’t see it.  We are so blinded by what WE want that we can’t let go and let God direct our steps without questioning Him at every turn.  What we have to realize is that God can see the big picture and if He always did exactly what we wanted when we wanted it, we would miss out on what His true divine plan is for each of us.

Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them.”

Today I challenge you take your requests to God.  Being giving thanks and trusting that God is working in His time and according to His will, which is greater than anything we can imagine.  Don’t get discouraged, just keep moving forward and thanking Him that he is directing you.  When you do that, you don’t have to worry about any problem or circumstance; you can be assured that El Shaddai, God Almighty, is at work bringing together His plan for your life!

Always the Best,

–Jimmie