Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for trusting us with these four unspoken requests. God knows each one completely, even though they have not been spoken here, and He knows the need behind each one better than any words could express.
It helps to remember what prayer truly is. It is not a way of informing God about something He does not know, as if He needs to be brought up to date on our situation. He already knows your needs and He already has a purpose and a plan that is good. Real prayer begins with Him. He makes His will known to our hearts, and we then express that will back to Him. In that way prayer is not trying to get our will done on earth, but to see His will done.
That is why the heart of true prayer always includes, not my will but Yours be done. We are not making demands or trying to command God or take His place. We are simply opening the door for Him to do what He has desired to do all along, without violating the choice He has given us. The Almighty is able to do all things, yet Scripture shows that we can limit what He does in our lives when we do not open that door through prayer and trust.
God delights to answer prayer, and that is our incentive to keep praying. At the same time we all know what it is like to pray and feel that nothing has happened and the problem remains. When that happens our first thought should not be to blame God, but to examine our own hearts and to rest again in His will and His timing. He often calls us to wait with patience, as He did with Abraham and many others, and to keep listening as well as speaking when we pray. Prayer has a listening side, and persistence matters when we have His promise to hold onto.
He wants to bless you, not because you have earned it, but because He is good and loving. He uses those who give themselves to His Word and to prayer, and He hears the position of the heart more than any outward form or volume. The Spirit often brings assurance and comfort even while we are praying.
So we are joining with you now for these four matters, asking that the Lord would work in each one according to His perfect will and purpose. We ask that He would make His will clear to you, give you peace as you wait on Him, and accomplish what is best for His glory and for your good. We pray that you would sense His access and nearness through Jesus Christ, and that you would be strengthened to trust Him with each unspoken burden, knowing that He who has promised is faithful.
It helps to remember what prayer truly is. It is not a way of informing God about something He does not know, as if He needs to be brought up to date on our situation. He already knows your needs and He already has a purpose and a plan that is good. Real prayer begins with Him. He makes His will known to our hearts, and we then express that will back to Him. In that way prayer is not trying to get our will done on earth, but to see His will done.
That is why the heart of true prayer always includes, not my will but Yours be done. We are not making demands or trying to command God or take His place. We are simply opening the door for Him to do what He has desired to do all along, without violating the choice He has given us. The Almighty is able to do all things, yet Scripture shows that we can limit what He does in our lives when we do not open that door through prayer and trust.
God delights to answer prayer, and that is our incentive to keep praying. At the same time we all know what it is like to pray and feel that nothing has happened and the problem remains. When that happens our first thought should not be to blame God, but to examine our own hearts and to rest again in His will and His timing. He often calls us to wait with patience, as He did with Abraham and many others, and to keep listening as well as speaking when we pray. Prayer has a listening side, and persistence matters when we have His promise to hold onto.
He wants to bless you, not because you have earned it, but because He is good and loving. He uses those who give themselves to His Word and to prayer, and He hears the position of the heart more than any outward form or volume. The Spirit often brings assurance and comfort even while we are praying.
So we are joining with you now for these four matters, asking that the Lord would work in each one according to His perfect will and purpose. We ask that He would make His will clear to you, give you peace as you wait on Him, and accomplish what is best for His glory and for your good. We pray that you would sense His access and nearness through Jesus Christ, and that you would be strengthened to trust Him with each unspoken burden, knowing that He who has promised is faithful.
