HOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYER

Of all the disciplines involved with being a strong, mature Christian, I have the most difficulty with prayer. I don't think it is because I can not visualize the Person to Whom I am speaking, although I often have difficulty quieting my mind and concentrating on being alone with my Creator. While in the midst of writing that last sentence, my grandson called to ask that I pray for his daughter who nearly severed her finger in a screen door. I stopped, bowed my head, quieted my mind, humbled myself before Almighty God, and prayed for calm, wisdom and skill for the doctors, and for a full recovery by Alex. That kind of prayer was easy. After all, what else could I do? If the problem was within my power to solve, I would solve it instead of praying.

Will God grant my prayer? I have absolutely no doubt! But how He will answer it is yet to be discovered. God has three ways of answering prayers: He says, "Yes." He does what is asked of Him, but it has been my experience that He often answers our prayer in such a unique way that there is no doubt it is He Who deserves the glory. In Daniel 3:17-30, God not only answered "yes" to the prayers of the three "children," He joined them in the fiery furnace. One thinks of the thirty-three trapped miners, whose rescuers will be praised and be called heroes, and yet, believers know that it was God Who gave them the wisdom and skills needed to achieve the task.

Sometimes, God says, "No." The Apostle Paul prayed a prayer and God told him no, because He had provided Paul with the grace to bear the "thorn" (2 Cor. 12:7-9). God forbid that He would do so in the case of Alex! But if He does, I know with equal certainty that it will result in the ultimate good for all involved. The Word says, "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God...." I love God! I trust God! I will praise Him, when all is said and done, because the outcome will be glorious! I cannot image how His "no" could possibly be better than His "yes," but I know that should He say "no," it will be! He is trustworthy.

Or more often than not, He says, "Wait." I think His "wait" is more difficult to live with than His "no." It is in the time of waiting that Satan causes us to doubt God's ability and His love for us. I have prayed for years for the salvation of family and friends, and to this day, I have yet to see evidence that some of them have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It would be easy to believe that God is saying "no," but His Word says He does not want anyone to be lost (2 Pet. 3:9). Of course, men have a free will, and can refuse God's efforts to save them. So I pray, God works, and individuals decide how my prayer will be answered. I will have to wait until I get to heaven to know for sure. And, it is likely that there is a delay because there are competing forces battling over the issue. In Daniel 10:1-13, Daniel prayed, fasted, and waited three weeks before God answered.

So whether or not God heals Alex is really not the issue. In the end, we will all rejoice for what He will have done! God is always good, and always worthy of praise! Praise the Lord!