Praising God for answered prayers
We are given many verses throughout God’s Word on prayer, and many of these we have probably heard most of our lives. Here are a few:
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:24, 25
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:11, 12
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:18
“Pray continually.” I Thessalonians 5:17
We know we are supposed to pray. We know God wants us to pray without ceasing. We know it is something that needs to be part of our daily lives. But sometimes we stop praying like we should. We get busy or life gets in the way or we forget or we may even think “what’s the use.” Maybe you have been praying about something for years without seeing any changes in the situation. Maybe you have grown weary of continuing to bring your petitions before God. Today I want to encourage you and remind you that God does answer prayers!
I remember a while back when my husband and I prayed regarding an issue with his work, and then the next day we saw an answer to that prayer. It was so encouraging to me. Recently, I have noticed many answers to prayers in my own life and in the lives of others around me. Here are some examples from Facebook friends (shared with permission, some are directly from them).
* Treva: On Oct 8 I went to the bone doctor, and he was amazed on how well my shoulder is healing. God is doing His work. I go back on Nov 6. Now for my numbers concerning this disease….I had the blood work done last Tuesday, and after several phone calls to the lab, I finally have my numbers today. My CPK (muscle enzymes) went from 292 to 205…Dr words extremely close to normal. Normal is 170. The elderlace (sp) (muscle inflammation) went from 9.6 to 7.1. Because of the numbers going down, I got to change my prednisone from 12.5 to 10 mg a day. My goal is to get to 5 mg a day. Also last night I walked the farthest I’ve walked without my walker….100 yards. I want to say none of this could have happened if it weren’t for God. He is my healer. I thank Him every day I wake up and take a breath. It won’t be long before the new and improved Treva is back. I thought this past year would never pass, but here I am looking forward to this next year. Just continue to keep me in your prayers.
* Norlene: I am a walking miracle, and I am here because of the power of prayer. My children were called in and told I was not going to make it and here I am today! Cancer is not fun! I had an allergic reaction to the chemo drug taxol, which caused a catastrophic lung infection. But The Lord has blessed me.
* Amy: I have just experienced a miracle! At 4:00 today I saw my doctor, and we scheduled me for surgery tomorrow to remove a kidney stone that has been making me miserable for weeks. I went for blood work and hospital registration. Not 2 HOURS after I left I passed 2 big stones and several small fragments! No surgery tomorrow! I had been praying that if I was not meant to have this procedure that God would intervene. God is good! My kidney stone ordeal has actually gone on for over 6 months. I had the stone blasted in April. I’ve passed fragments, but then about 6 weeks ago I went to the ER with kidney stone pain and I had several large pieces left over from the blasting (lithotripsy). Anyway, I’ve been trying to pass it for 6 weeks and finally scheduled the surgery yesterday but I didn’t feel right about it, I just had that eerie feeling that I shouldn’t do it. I asked God to stop it if I was not to go through with it… and not 2 hours later I passed all the stones! That is all a God thing!
* Melissa: Melissa is from my childhood home town, and we were in 4-H together. She was recently suddenly hospitalized and her condition was not improving. The family was to the point that they were going to need to make some difficult decisions. On the morning when they were going to make a decision, her husband said, “I guess God isn’t ready for Melissa. Walked in the room said good morning Melissa and she opened her eyes. So no decision today.” Then this week there has been more good news. Melissa was transferred to another care facility. Also her husband said, “Just got news they have Melissa out of bed and sitting in a chair. They have the ventilator on weaning mode, she has to initiate every breath, praise be to God.”
There are other personal examples too that I won’t share here, but when they have happened I have realized it is an answer to prayer. When I hear of the ways God has answered prayers in the lives of His children, it encourages me to keep on praying. It reminds me that He is listening and our prayers do matter! Be encouraged today to continue in your prayers. Don’t be discouraged. Praise God for His answers and share those answers with others so they will be reminded of God’s greatness to His children.
Have you seen an answer to prayer recently? Do you have a prayer concern you’d like to share? Please share it in the comments.
“Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. ” Psalm 77:13, 14
Have a day of blessings!
Prayers are indeed powerful. We may get discouraged because we don’t see the answers right away, or things don’t work out the way we hoped. But when looking back on my life, I know that God has answered some of them, and I will trust Him that He will work things out of my future prayers.