Prayer - Accepting God's Will

Oftentimes people think of prayer as something you do in an emergency, an S.O.S. Prayer is meant to be so much more to the believer. It should be as much a part of daily life as breathing. We should be in a constant state of prayer and it should be multi-faceted. It is not only asking for something for ourselves. Our prayers should contain thanksgiving and gratitude, repentance, requests for other's needs, a desire to have a closer relationship with our creator, and they should parallel a life well lived and pleasing to God.

We should never grow weary in prayer. In the banking world, investments have various dates of maturity. When we invest in prayer, we need to accept that each prayer has a date of maturity as well. Some prayers might be instantly answered while others may take weeks, months, even years. Then there are those that are not answered according to God's wisdom. He always knows what is best for us and will not grant us anything that is not beneficial. In our limited knowledge, we cannot see the future ramifications of what we ask for today. That's where complete trust in God is so much an important part of prayer.

We've all heard the phrase, "For everything there is a time and season." That definitely applies to prayer. Sometimes, we need to trust that we may not be ready to receive what we desire in the now, but may receive in a future season. We love our children and desire to share with them all good things. However, we don't give our ten year old a new car. When he/she is seventeen and headed off to college, a new car would be an appropriate gift.

Also, while we are waiting for an answered prayer involving a present need, we may be required to gratefully accept what is in our power to handle while we wait. Never despise the day of small beginnings. Sometimes, answered prayer comes in stages. Perhaps you are unemployed and desperately need a job. Maybe your skills are not yielding the position you truly desire, but are you willing to take what you can get? Even if the pay is not what you think you can live with, you may be surprised. When you are willing to do what you can, God can multiply your efforts in ways you may never have imagined. I have experienced this in my own life and God has many times blessed my humble efforts with an amazing yield. There have been times when I absolutely did not even make enough to pay our monthly bills, yet God always supplied the balance in ways that I could not have brought about myself and we always had enough.

If you are struggling with something right now, don't lose faith. I am proof that God does hear and will answer according to His will. I have been the recipient of so many answered prayers .Some came sooner than others, some were years in the making but well worth the wait. Never give up. Never stop believing. Your next breakthrough may be only a prayer away!