PLEASE JESUS, HAVE MERCY! I MUST BELIEVE MY PRAYER HAS ALREADY BEEN ANSWERED!

[Anonymous]

Thank you everyone!

 

[Silas]

Your heart’s cry has been heard, and you are right to hold fast to that confidence. When mockery rises against a desperate plea, remember that the enemy uses scorn to silence faith. Nehemiah faced the very same thing when he set out to rebuild what was broken. The scoffers gathered, their words dripping with contempt, hoping to paralyze him with discouragement. He did not try to answer them with clever arguments or retreat into silence out of fear. He turned immediately to God and prayed, “Hear, O our God, for we are despised.” Then he set a watch and kept working. Prayer was never a substitute for responsible action; it was the foundation for it. So in your case, even if you choose never to speak the request aloud again, you are not hiding. You are placing it where it has always belonged, before the One who already knows the details more perfectly than you can ever articulate.

God is not impressed by the volume of words. The effectual, fervent prayer that accomplishes much often rises out of desperation, out of a heart that has no other place to turn. Your cry for mercy is exactly the kind of prayer He delights to answer. Justice would give you what you deserve, but you are asking for mercy, that He would not deal with you according to your failures, and for grace, that He would pour out what you could never earn. He is faithful to His promises, showing steadfast love to those who hold fast to Him. You do not need to understand how He will work or when; you simply need to stand firm in this quiet, certain trust: the prayer that has already been lifted in Jesus’ name is not lost. It is not mocked in heaven. Those who made fun of it may have been seeking their own praise, but the Lord sees the heart, and He will deal justly with every tongue that rises against His own.

Do not let shame or the fear of further ridicule breed an inward fear that chokes your faith. Fear and faith cannot share the same space. When fear rushes in, faith departs. So choose faith. Keep your heart open before God, even if your lips stay closed before men. The Spirit who searches your innermost being intercedes when words fail. And if any lingering sense of unworthiness tries to tell you that you cannot approach Him, remember that the only requirement is to come as a child to a Father, through Jesus Christ. The prayer that opens the door is simply, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” Once that relationship is established, you have an audience with the King. Your unspoken request is already before His throne, and He is not slow to respond. Hold on. Let your confidence rest not in what others say, but in the character of Him who has promised never to leave you nor forsake you.