Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.
One thing I have realized is that I can become so fixated in my prayers on what I want to happen that I become blind to how my prayers may be short-sighted and short-changing. I have recently been praying through some concerns that affect people whom I love, and I believe wholeheartedly that God has given me confidence that things will be ok and that He is in control. However, what I can see with my eyes tells me the opposite. When facts don’t line up with promises from God, it can cause us to doubt and lose sight of what He is doing in the present. We know what we want, but God knows what we need. I’m reminded of Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” If we believe this verse to be true, we should have comfort in knowing that the prayers we pray are only a small fraction of what he is truly doing for us. His plan is so much greater and holds so much more purpose.
We see this to be true in Acts 11 when Peter is in prison, and the church is earnestly praying for him to be released. King Herod had been persecuting and killing those in the church while finding approval with the Jews. The facts showed that Peter was next. Despite the many prayers on his behalf, Peter was kept in prison. Imagine this: the church is praying for a miracle, asking God to somehow intervene, imagining and believing Peter will be released, only to find themselves the night before his trial with no answers, and what looks like nothing is happening. Our natural tendency to solely rely on what we see has so much influence over what we believe to be true about God. Here is the reality of the situation: God hears the prayers of his people, and in His perfect timing, we see Him answer in ways that are far beyond what could have been asked or imagined. In reality, God miraculously breaks Peter’s chains, blinds his guards, opens iron gates, and rescues him from King Herod and ultimately death. The facts of this rescue reached far beyond what the limited minds of Peter’s friends could even think to pray.
We have to continually remind ourselves that what we see is not always the facts. God is always working on our behalf. We have to trust that when we can’t see what we hope for, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Maybe it means we have forgotten the goodness and faithfulness of God to work beyond what we can ask, think, or imagine. When we can look beyond what we perceive to be our greatest need and remember the truth of who God is, then we will be able to move forward in faith while watching for God to make a miraculous move.
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.