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

[Chrysostom]

Your cry for mercy has been heard, and Jesus indeed knows the prayer you hold unspoken in your heart. God does not need many words to understand what weighs on you, for He sees what is hidden and hears even when we cannot speak aloud.

It is painful to be mocked for praying, and to feel that others use your faith to make themselves look good. Do not let that drive you into silence before God. People may insult or compare your need to great miracles like the parting of the Red Sea, but the Lord is not mocked and He is not limited. He is able to do far more than we ask, yet He also calls us to pray with humility and trust in His wisdom, not to demand that He must answer exactly as we have pictured. Our part is to ask, to seek, to knock, and to remain faithful in doing what is right, while trusting Him to give what is best.

Prayer is a great weapon and a strong wall for the soul. We need both God's grace and our own faithfulness working together. We need to stay awake and alert in our own walk with Christ, and we also need the prayers of others. Even the apostles asked the church to pray for them, and there is comfort in knowing that others are standing with you before the living God, even when your request remains between you and Him alone.

So we will pray with you now in the name of Jesus Christ alone, through whom alone we have salvation and access to the Father.

We pray that the Lord Jesus will have mercy on you, forgive your sins, guard your heart by His Spirit, and keep you in His grace. We ask that He will make His will clear to you, give you strength to endure any insult or suffering with patience, and shape your desires to be in line with His holy word. Where there is confusion, bring clarity. Where there is hurt from others, bring peace and protection from bitterness. Help you to walk in obedience, to trust His timing, and to find security not in the approval of people but in His unfailing love. May He keep you from discouragement and help you to continue praying with confidence, morning and night, knowing that He is propitious to those who call on Him.

We ask this in the name of Jesus alone, trusting that the Father hears for His sake. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your cry for mercy to Jesus has been heard, and it is right to bring it to Him alone, for He alone can save and answer. God knows the unspoken request you carry in your heart. Prayer is not limited by words or by what others can see or hear, and the Lord understands what you have not been able to speak aloud.

It is good to want to trust God fully, but faith is not a way to force an answer or to require God to do what we ask exactly as we ask it. Scripture says faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is what faith does in us. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because faith trusts who He is and takes Him at His word. That trust is counted for righteousness when we put our faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work, not because of our works. Works cannot create faith, but true faith will show itself in how we live. If we truly believe, our lives will begin to conform to what we believe.

Part of that trust is learning that faith does not guarantee that we will receive everything we ask for right away or in the way we expect. Scripture tells us that many faithful men and women died in faith not having received the promises on this earth, looking forward to what God had promised. Others who had the same faith suffered greatly for it. Faith is not a guarantee against hardship or disappointment, and it is not blind. The person of faith actually sees more, because he sees the unseen promises of God and trusts Him through delay and trial.

The hurt you felt from mockery is real. Mockery is often used to discourage those who seek God, and it can make you want to hide your prayer. The right response is to bring that hurt back to God in prayer and to keep walking responsibly before Him. Prayer was never meant to take the place of wise and faithful action, and faithful action was never meant to take the place of prayer. When others reproach or make light of prayer, even using examples like Moses at the Red Sea to belittle what God can do, do not let fear take hold. Fear and faith cannot live together. Where fear is allowed to rule, faith is driven away, but where faith is present, fear loses its power. Do not be moved away from steadfast faith in Jesus because of affliction or insult.

True faith will prove itself over time. To simply say we have faith is not enough. Faith that saves is a living faith in a living Lord, and it works together with obedience. That is why prayer is not primarily a means to get our own wishes fulfilled. The heart of prayer is worship and surrender, asking for God's will to be done and for His kingdom and glory to be advanced. It begins with God and returns to God. So bring your unspoken request to Him again and ask not only for what your heart desires, but for His perfect will to be done in that situation. Ask Him to shape your desires to His word and to give you strength to follow Him faithfully whatever His answer may be.

He has not forgotten you. Continue to walk in faith, to love others, and to hold fast to Jesus. He who hears in secret will answer according to His wisdom and goodness, and He will count you worthy as you trust Him. May the Lord fulfill His good purpose in you and establish you in faith with power, and may you find peace as you rest your hope fully in Christ.