Answered Prayer

 

I learned to play golf when I was a kid. I eventually got to be fairly good at it. One lesson I learned was that, when getting ready to hit the ball, you need to visualize hitting the shot you want. If you focus on what you are trying not to do, your ball will likely end up in the water, the woods, or the sand.  Your expectation drives your action.

 

As I’ve said before, I think that certain passages in the Bible are meant to appeal to our sense of humor. In Acts, we read that the believers were praying for Peter after he had been arrested by Herod. Then an angel comes and frees Peter from prison! When Peter comes to the home where the believers were praying for him, a servant girl answered the door. She ran upstairs to tell everyone that Peter was at the door. Did they rejoice at the news? No, they told her, “You’re out of your mind”. 

 

We shouldn’t be surprised when God answers our prayers. Our God loves us and delights in doing good for us. We can and should pray with confidence. Jesus has promised, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Mt 7:7-8). This is not to say that we can treat God as some kind of supernatural vending machine. Our prayers should be in accordance with His will.

 

We’ll talk more about this in the months to come.