This encouraging verse shows that God hears our prayers immediately and God answers prayers (maybe not the way we expect) but sometimes the answer to our prayers may seem to be delayed (God has His reasons). Therefore, do not be anxious. Pray. Trust. Rest. We must trust God, His will, His wisdom, and His timing. He loves us and knows what's best for us! If our heart is right (humble before God) and our mind is set to gain understanding (not to get what we want, but rather to understand God's will), we have nothing to fear or worry about. Our prayers will be heard, accepted, and taken care of by our Abba Father. Being sure of this, our strength is renewed, our courage is revived, and our hope is rekindled, as we wait upon the Lord. We can approach God's throne of grace with calmness and confidence. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." (1 John 5:14)
Prayer is not about words but rather the attitude of the heart and the condition of the soul that enjoy dwelling in God's presence. Prayer is pouring our heart out to our Heavenly Father, in love, in faith, in humble submission, and in gratitude. Pray earnestly without ceasing. Pray first and pray most. Let's take full advantage of this amazing privilege God has given us! Even though we know His will prevails and He knows all our needs, God desires that we come to Him in prayer because it's a relationship thing. "The purpose of prayer is that we get a hold of God, not of the answer." (Oswald Chambers) He wants us to rely on Him, look to Him for fresh supplies of grace & mercy to sustain us, strengthen us, and keep us to the end, and keep our hearts and mind focused on Him...on His purpose. We find shelter, rest, comfort, strength, joy, peace, encouragement, and assurance in sweet communion with our Father. Our attitude regarding praying should always be "not my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42b). Praying draws us closer to God, and through prayer, God molds our heart's desires and our thoughts to be like His. Let us be thankful that God's answers are always wiser than our prayers!
"We speak. He listens. He speaks. We listen. This is prayer in its purest form. God changes His people through such moments...Just as a happy child cannot mis-hug, the sincere heart cannot mis-pray. Heaven knows, life has enough burdens without the burden of praying correctly. If prayer depends on how I pray, I'm sunk. But if the power of prayer depends on the One who hears the prayer, and if the One who hears the prayer is my Daddy, then I have hope." (Max Lucado)
"Prayer should be...constant, fervent, believing, hopeful, and incessant. God loves it, Satan hates it, and every true Christian values it. True prayer is always necessary, profitable and acceptable to God." (James Smith)
"Be thou content to leave thy prayer in His hands, Who knows when to give, and how to give, and what to give, and what to withhold." (Charles H. Spurgeon)
Prayer: Abba Father, I'm so thankful that I can come to You anytime, anywhere and tell you about anything. I'm so glad that You never get tired of listening to my prayers and that You're always available. Please continue to transform my heart and mind, my desires and will to be like Yours. Please help me to be steadfast and patient in prayer when I don't see answers right away. I know You hear and You care. I surrender all to You and I trust You for all things in all circumstances. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
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