God answers prayers.
It is a simple statement - but very profound. Sometimes we just need that reminder.
His answers often come in one of three ways. Yes, No, or wait.
Some prayers are answered over a long period of time, and it
feels like pushing a boulder uphill as we pray.
Others are instantaneous and so fast they catch us off guard like those
who were praying for Peter’s release from jail while he was knocking on their
door. “What?? That can’t be Peter!? We are Still Praying!”
Many of my prayers have been that boulder pushing up hill
asking again and again for God’s answer.
But today is not about those prayers.
Today is about the instant ones. Today
is a day of hope and joy as I share a couple of instant answers that came so quick,
I had to stop and say, “Thank you Lord!” in the middle of my prayer
request.
The first one was when we lost an employee at our place of
business. Replacing someone in the
business is normally a grueling process of advertising and interviews that can
take weeks and sometimes months to complete.
The last time we went through this process it took 45 applicants to secure
the position.
So, we buckled down and reached out to friends and asked for
prayers as the process started.
The advertisements were placed, and the resumes started
coming in. I scheduled a few
interviews. The first interview went exceptionally
well and the next thing we knew – we had a new employee!
“What Lord?? We are Still Praying!”
When friends asked us the following week how things were
going, I was hesitant because we had received a yes from the potential employee
and the onboarding process had started.
I was in such shock I just said, “Yes we have someone but please keep
praying she will actually start.”
Wow, what little faith I had.
God gave me the employee instantly, but I was still looking
to see where the employee was. Good
thing He is patient with me. I was so
used to the struggles that having an instant answer was honestly outside of my realm
of possibilities.
I needed this moment for God to show me, He is Bigger than
my requests. I needed this moment for
God to show me He HEARS Me. I
guess I have been feeling a bit unheard with my prayers in late. Not that I gave up, but gave in to No and
Wait… I had decided that hearing a quick
Yes was not in the cards for me. He quietly
corrected me. I am so grateful for this… I am so grateful that I only need faith the
size of a mustard seed – because sometimes that is all I have.
The next quick answer from God was a small thing in the grand
scheme of life, but important to me and He knew. We renewed our vows last month and the
weather was not scheduled to cooperate. We
do live in an area where planning outdoor events can be like playing the
lottery with the weather. All week long
it stormed and had no plans on letting up.
I prayed and asked God to shut the skies from the storms so
we could have a beautiful day. We wanted
to bless those who were coming with a few surprises that would be meaningful outside
instead of huddled under a tent. After
praying I just knew He heard me, and it would happen. I had a peace that was beyond understanding. Everyone mentioned the weather all week long
and was worried the event would be rained out.
I just kept His promise close to my heart and said if it does, we will
be okay. Either way.
That day it poured buckets of rain all morning. Then suddenly it stopped, and the sun came
out unexpectedly. The ground dried out and the temperature was
perfect. It was like God blessed the
moment and said, “Yes.” Another quick
Yes from God.
It wasn’t the most important
prayer request. But it was important to
me, and He knew. A small mustard seed of
faith…
Once again – God answers prayers in 3 ways – Yes, No, or not
yet (wait)…
And Today I am sharing – He Hears You Too. Never stop praying. All it takes is the faith of the smallest
seed.
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it
will obey you.
Luke 17:6 NIV
So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was
earnestly praying to God for him.
Acts 12:5
The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter
was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood
guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone
in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he
said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Then the angel said to him, “Put
on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and
follow me,” the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he
had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he
was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the
iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went
through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel
left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that
the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from
everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
Acts 12:6-11
Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant
named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was
so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the
door!” When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of
John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was
so, they said, “It must be his angel.” Peter motioned with his hand for them to
be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James
and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for
another place. But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and
saw him, they were astonished.
Acts 12:12-17
Copyright © 2022 Peggy A. Priest. All Rights Reserved.
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