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12-30-2007, 10:38 AM
The Reward of Prayer
by G. Rodgers
** You can make a big difference in someone’s life by becoming a prayer mentor.
Sometimes the answer to an earnest prayer does not come when we think it should. Yet there is something even more precious than the things we seek from God’s hand. We can experience God.
God promises a reward to those who earnestly seek Him. He says, “Anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him”(Hebrews 11:6).
What does God’s reward look like if it isn’t the very answer to our request? Other verses give us insight into God’s thoughts for us as we earnestly seek Him. He tells us, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31).
I wonder sometimes if God holds back on the answers to our prayers for “things” because He wants us to find Him in a new way. He wants us to find the strength in Him to run our part of the race of life and not grow weary as we learn to lean on Him. Sometimes He waits for us to earnestly seek Him rather than simply seek an answer or a solution to our problem.
God does invite us to “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). That help may come as the strength He gives to “mount up with wings as eagles” and to soar above our circumstances with His strength.
Seeking God’s face to know Him better will reap rewards far beyond anything we seek from His hand. It’s not wrong to ask God for things. It is part of prayer. Yet too often it is the biggest part of our prayers.
Try setting aside your list of requests from the hand of God for just a little while. Take those moments in prayer and tell God you want to seek His face.
Holy Father,
I thank You for Your interest in me beyond my request list. Thank You that You desire to change me and to lift me up as on the wings of the eagle. Today I want to seek Your face. I want to see You clearly and to desire Your presence more than the things I think I need. I want to feel You as the anchor of my soul, steadying me through the mountains and valleys of my journey with a strength that lets me run and not be weary. Encase me in Your presence and Your holiness today. May I experience You in a fresh way! I pray this in the strong name of Jesus, amen.
There are times when it seems that our prayers go unheard. What are some ways that you have learned to cope when those times come? If you are in one of those times right now, how can you exercise your faith even when your prayers seem unheard?
by G. Rodgers
** You can make a big difference in someone’s life by becoming a prayer mentor.
Sometimes the answer to an earnest prayer does not come when we think it should. Yet there is something even more precious than the things we seek from God’s hand. We can experience God.
God promises a reward to those who earnestly seek Him. He says, “Anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him”(Hebrews 11:6).
What does God’s reward look like if it isn’t the very answer to our request? Other verses give us insight into God’s thoughts for us as we earnestly seek Him. He tells us, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31).
I wonder sometimes if God holds back on the answers to our prayers for “things” because He wants us to find Him in a new way. He wants us to find the strength in Him to run our part of the race of life and not grow weary as we learn to lean on Him. Sometimes He waits for us to earnestly seek Him rather than simply seek an answer or a solution to our problem.
God does invite us to “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). That help may come as the strength He gives to “mount up with wings as eagles” and to soar above our circumstances with His strength.
Seeking God’s face to know Him better will reap rewards far beyond anything we seek from His hand. It’s not wrong to ask God for things. It is part of prayer. Yet too often it is the biggest part of our prayers.
Try setting aside your list of requests from the hand of God for just a little while. Take those moments in prayer and tell God you want to seek His face.
Holy Father,
I thank You for Your interest in me beyond my request list. Thank You that You desire to change me and to lift me up as on the wings of the eagle. Today I want to seek Your face. I want to see You clearly and to desire Your presence more than the things I think I need. I want to feel You as the anchor of my soul, steadying me through the mountains and valleys of my journey with a strength that lets me run and not be weary. Encase me in Your presence and Your holiness today. May I experience You in a fresh way! I pray this in the strong name of Jesus, amen.
There are times when it seems that our prayers go unheard. What are some ways that you have learned to cope when those times come? If you are in one of those times right now, how can you exercise your faith even when your prayers seem unheard?