What would change in your prayer life if God fulfilled all of your prayers?
A while back, I prayed for something concerning another person, and I honestly had zero expectations that it would come to pass. I prayed while thinking, “There is no way that this is going to happen.” Well, guess how surprised I was when I found out that it actually did happen! I was shocked that God answered a prayer that I had prayed in lack of faith, and because He answered this prayer when I never expected it to come to pass, I felt convicted about my prayer habits. I asked myself, “How would my prayers be different if I knew that God would essentially say ‘yes’ to them?”
If you have a moment, grab a pen and paper and write down your personal answer to this question. “How would my prayers be different if I believed that God would fulfill them?”
My answer to that question was convicting. In all honesty, my prayers would be a lot different if I actually knew that God would answer them with a ‘yes’ and bring them to pass. The other night when I was heartbroken over some things in this country, I chose to give it a try. I went to bed early and spent a long time praying as if God would bring my prayers to pass. I noticed that most of the things I prayed for in this prayer were things that I don’t normally pray for. I also noticed that my prayer lasted much longer than it usually does.
While considering the changes I would make in my prayer life, another thing came to mind. If God’s answer or response to our prayers was ‘yes,’ how we would pray says a lot about our hearts. Look at the prayer list you wrote down. What did you write? Did you pray for God to bless the hurting and lonely in this world? Did you pray for God to give you a large sum of money? Did you pray for salvation for those you know who have not placed their faith in Christ? What is the heart behind your prayers? Selfishness or selflessness? Love? Perhaps something else?
“A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart,” (Luke 6:45, NIV)
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way,” (Psalm 139:23-24, HCSB)
My hopes with this article are that we would each take a careful and intentional look at our prayer life and, if necessary, make some changes. I believe that the prayers of Christians can change the world. I’ll add an example that I gave to my children earlier. We were working on cleaning up a space in the garage because…basically, it looked as messy as it did when we moved in and stuck a lot of our stuff in it. We had some huge chests full of books in the middle of the garage, and they were heavy. So, knowing full well that it was not possible for my daughters to move one, I asked them to do the impossible.
I started with Corabell. I said, “Corabell, try to move this box.” She pushed and strained, and her feet slid on the concrete. I asked her why she couldn’t push the box and she said, “Because it’s too heavy.”
I said, “Right. Now, Aelia, you try it.”
So, my oldest daughter Aelia tried pushing the box and, of course, it didn’t budge. I asked her, “Why can’t you move the box?”
She said, “Because I’m not old enough.”
I laughed and said, “No, your age has nothing to do with it. Why can’t you move the box?”
She said, “Because I’m not strong enough.”
I told them, “Right! In life, there will be times when things happen that you cannot overcome or handle on your own. There will always be people who tell you, ‘You can do it, try harder, do more, just keep trying…’ but in reality, there will be things in this life that you can’t do by yourself. So, what should you do?” They answered, “Ask for help.” I said, “Alright, work together to try to move the box.” They both pushed and strained, and still, the box didn’t budge (these things are seriously heavy; we may have a book-hoarding problem). Then they looked at me. I said, “It’s good to ask for help, but who do you truly need help from?” Their answer was “God.” I smiled, “That’s right. Now let’s work together to move this box.” (*Disclaimer, I am not claiming to be God in any way shape or form… but the box needed to be moved and I felt the example was one they would be able to easily grasp).
How often do we try to bring about changes in our own lives by ourselves? How often do we forget to ask God for help? I’m guilty of this, I truly am, but asking myself how my prayers would change if I believed God would say ‘yes’ really helped me change my perspective. I hope that it does the same for you. There is a direct correlation between what we believe concerning God’s power/goodness and how we pray, and for me, this is convicting. I suppose it would be fitting if I ended this with a prayer.
Father, thank You for each and every person who is reading this right now. Thank You that we are so incredibly blessed to be able to bring our prayers directly to You. Father, give us hearts and minds that are pleasing to You. May we pray boldly, knowing that You can do all things, but may we also pray with the humble acceptance that Your plans are greater than our own. May Your children be ones who take the time to pray. In Jesus’s name, amen.
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