Silas
Beloved of All
Your honesty in bringing this before the Lord is heard, and your desire to come to Jesus alone in His name is right. There is only one way to the Father, and that is through Jesus Christ, and it is only when that relationship is established that prayer becomes living communion. Apart from Him the one prayer God delights to hear is, God be merciful to me, a sinner. When that prayer is prayed from the heart, He hears and answers and brings you into the place where you can truly say Father and know He listens.
God already knows what you are carrying, even when you do not put it into words. Prayer was never meant to inform Him of something He does not know. He knew your need long before you felt it, and He knows what you will need months and years from now. An unspoken request is not hidden from Him. His Spirit knows the heart and brings your need before Him even when you have no words, and often in that quiet waiting He ministers assurance and comfort back to your heart.
It is understandable that mockery hurts. When others belittle a sincere prayer, even using examples from Scripture like Moses at the sea to make it seem foolish, it can feel like an attack meant to make themselves look good. That kind of ridicule has long been a tool to discourage those who seek God. The right response is not to argue or to try to prove yourself, but to do what faithful people have always done, to turn it over to God in prayer. You can bring the hurt and the insult to Him and leave it with Him. He sees what is done in secret and in public, and it is a righteous thing with Him to deal justly with those who trouble His people while giving rest to those who are troubled. Your part is to keep your heart clear before Him, to forgive, and to continue to walk responsibly before Him. Prayer was never meant to replace faithful action, but to go hand in hand with it.
You expressed a strong desire to believe your prayer is already answered. That longing reflects real faith, and true faith does learn to thank God even before the answer is seen. Abraham gave glory to God while he was still waiting, trusting the promise because he trusted the One who promised. A prayer offered in real trust can end in praise, with a quiet confidence that God has heard and will do what is right. At the same time, the purpose of prayer is not to force our will to happen on earth, but to come into cooperation with His will. Prayer begins with God and His purposes, which He makes known to our hearts, and we then speak those purposes back to Him. He does not change His good plan because we insist, but He opens the door through our praying to do what He has already purposed to do for our good. That is why the wisest and safest prayer is always, Lord, work out Your perfect will in my life.
God does hear and answer prayer. If you ask, you will receive, if you seek, you will find, if you knock, it will be opened. Yet His answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no, and sometimes wait. Paul prayed three times for a burden to be removed and the answer he received was, My grace is sufficient for you, My strength is made perfect in weakness. That was not a rejection, it was a deeper blessing. God wants to bless you, not because you have earned it, but because He is good and He loves you. If there is anything in the heart that is not surrendered to Him, Scripture warns that if we hold onto sin while we pray, we hinder communion. So keep your heart open before Him, confess what needs to be confessed, and walk in honesty with Him. The heartfelt, fervent prayer of a person made right through Christ has great power, especially when it rises out of deep need.
You do not need to prove your prayer to others or defend it against those who mock. Bring it quietly and continually to the Lord. Worship Him for who He is, thank Him that He is faithful and that He has brought you this far, and place the whole matter, with all its details that only He knows, into His hands. Ask Him to fulfill His good pleasure and to make you worthy of the calling He has given you, and trust that whatever He does will be the best, even if it is not exactly what you first asked.
May the Lord lift your hands to Him in trust today, keep you from evil, and fill you with His peace as you rest in His will. May you know His grace is enough for this moment and for what is ahead, and may your prayer, whether spoken or unspoken, end in quiet praise because you know your Father hears you through Jesus.
God already knows what you are carrying, even when you do not put it into words. Prayer was never meant to inform Him of something He does not know. He knew your need long before you felt it, and He knows what you will need months and years from now. An unspoken request is not hidden from Him. His Spirit knows the heart and brings your need before Him even when you have no words, and often in that quiet waiting He ministers assurance and comfort back to your heart.
It is understandable that mockery hurts. When others belittle a sincere prayer, even using examples from Scripture like Moses at the sea to make it seem foolish, it can feel like an attack meant to make themselves look good. That kind of ridicule has long been a tool to discourage those who seek God. The right response is not to argue or to try to prove yourself, but to do what faithful people have always done, to turn it over to God in prayer. You can bring the hurt and the insult to Him and leave it with Him. He sees what is done in secret and in public, and it is a righteous thing with Him to deal justly with those who trouble His people while giving rest to those who are troubled. Your part is to keep your heart clear before Him, to forgive, and to continue to walk responsibly before Him. Prayer was never meant to replace faithful action, but to go hand in hand with it.
You expressed a strong desire to believe your prayer is already answered. That longing reflects real faith, and true faith does learn to thank God even before the answer is seen. Abraham gave glory to God while he was still waiting, trusting the promise because he trusted the One who promised. A prayer offered in real trust can end in praise, with a quiet confidence that God has heard and will do what is right. At the same time, the purpose of prayer is not to force our will to happen on earth, but to come into cooperation with His will. Prayer begins with God and His purposes, which He makes known to our hearts, and we then speak those purposes back to Him. He does not change His good plan because we insist, but He opens the door through our praying to do what He has already purposed to do for our good. That is why the wisest and safest prayer is always, Lord, work out Your perfect will in my life.
God does hear and answer prayer. If you ask, you will receive, if you seek, you will find, if you knock, it will be opened. Yet His answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no, and sometimes wait. Paul prayed three times for a burden to be removed and the answer he received was, My grace is sufficient for you, My strength is made perfect in weakness. That was not a rejection, it was a deeper blessing. God wants to bless you, not because you have earned it, but because He is good and He loves you. If there is anything in the heart that is not surrendered to Him, Scripture warns that if we hold onto sin while we pray, we hinder communion. So keep your heart open before Him, confess what needs to be confessed, and walk in honesty with Him. The heartfelt, fervent prayer of a person made right through Christ has great power, especially when it rises out of deep need.
You do not need to prove your prayer to others or defend it against those who mock. Bring it quietly and continually to the Lord. Worship Him for who He is, thank Him that He is faithful and that He has brought you this far, and place the whole matter, with all its details that only He knows, into His hands. Ask Him to fulfill His good pleasure and to make you worthy of the calling He has given you, and trust that whatever He does will be the best, even if it is not exactly what you first asked.
May the Lord lift your hands to Him in trust today, keep you from evil, and fill you with His peace as you rest in His will. May you know His grace is enough for this moment and for what is ahead, and may your prayer, whether spoken or unspoken, end in quiet praise because you know your Father hears you through Jesus.
