Not Wishful Thinking

Think back to when you were a kid. Did you ever ask your parents for something you knew they would most likely say no to, but you asked anyway, just in case? It was really nothing more than wishful thinking on your part.  

Do you pray believing that God has the power to answer your prayers? Do you believe that He will answer them? Or do you pray the same way you asked your parents, you know, wishful thinking, just hoping God hears you?

The Bible tells us that God is big enough to quiet the storms and calm the seas. Psalm 107:29 says this – “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.” We also read this in Mark 4:39 – “He (Jesus) got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

The Bible also tells us that same God, the God big enough to control the wind and the seas, also knows you by name – “The gatekeeper opens the gate for his sheep, and the sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out (John 10:3).” And even when you feel so small and insignificant, God sees you. Hagar, the unmarried pregnant maidservant, scared and alone in the desert, said this – “You are the God who sees me (Genesis 16:13).”

So, when you pray, pray like you mean it. Pray will an expectancy that God will hear you and respond. Does He always respond in the way we expect? Does He grant our every wish? The answer to both questions is no. Sometimes God comes in disguise and we miss him because we are looking for something different. Sometimes we tell God how we want Him to answer and when he answers in a completely different way, we totally miss it. Sometimes we expect God to come loudly but He comes as a gentle whisper. Sometimes God says to us “Yes,” other times, “Not yet,” and even this, “I have something better in mind.”

Be confident that God does always answer your prayer in some fashion or another. We find Jesus promising that those who ask, receive (Matthew 7:7-8). In these two verses I see Jesus assuring those who come in prayer, with persistence and sincerity, and without selfish motives (James 4:2-3), will, without exception, have their prayers answered. The evidence of the answer might not always immediately follow, but God does answer prayer, in the best way, every time. I do also believe the Bible is clear that unrepented sin can hinder God answering our prayers (one example is Psalm 66:18), so we need to continually confessing our sins, which opens God’s ears to hear us.

And lastly, the apostle Paul tells us that we are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I do not believe this means nonstop prayer, but rather, prayer that grows from a settled attitude of complete dependent on God. An uninterrupted communication pipeline.

Will you pray, do you pray, not as wishful thinking, but instead, with humility, boldness, and expectancy? Praying, with open arms and a clean heart, knowing that God will answer, is a beautiful thing!

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.