I remember reading the story of three friends who decided one Saturday to go fishing. They jumped in a boat and motored off the west coast of Florida. Suddenly, and without warning, the wind picked up and five foot waves swamped the boat, drowning the engine. Helpless before the tide, they drifted into the Gulf of Mexico. The men weren’t worried though because the sea lanes had a lot of boat traffic and surely they would be rescued. On their third day at sea, a Coast Guard jet flew overhead. They felt they had been seen and they celebrated by eating nearly all the food left aboard.
But no deliverance came. In desperation, they watched thirty ships pass close by and move on, despite their frantic gestures for help. They ate fish to survive and drank water by the sip morning and night to prevent dehydration. Finally, on their tenth day adrift, a freighter spotted and rescued them. Later when being interviewed, the men expressed their anger that no one seemed to notice they were in trouble.
Over the years, I have talked to a lot of people who wondered if God noticed them. Maybe you have been there. I know I have. As we go through the adversity life brings we pray but sometimes it seems like God is far away. We wonder, is he listening?
"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?" —Psalm 13:1
Maybe today you are like David and you are questioning:
•Has God forgotten?
•Is God hiding?
•Does he see all of this pain that is happening?
•Why is God not stopping it?
I’m learning as we pray that we must trust the plan of God and the timing of God. We also trust his character. We know he is a good Father and will do what is best for us.
When we pray we understand that our trust is not in our feelings. We may feel God is listening, or we may not feel he hears us. Our confidence is not in our feelings. Our confidence is in what the Word of God teach us.
I love 1 John 5:14 it says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
Notice what John says… “This is the confidence we have in approaching God.” John was confident God would hear him. What about you? Do you have this confidence?
One reason we know God hears our prayers is because He has promised to hear them! Even if He doesn’t always answer the way we think He should, He still hears us. Psalm 55:16-17 says, “As for me, I call to God … and he hears my voice.”
How can we establish the confidence that John talked about. I believe confidence is established through relationship! If I need something from someone I have built a close relationship with, I am certain they will do their best.
There is one key element to what John says. Again, he says, “if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” It’s here that we learn that prayer is not about my will. It’s about God’s will.
Pastor E. Stanley Jones wrote, “If I throw out a boat hook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God. ”
I’m tempted when I pray to give God my grocery list of things I want him to provide and things I want him to do. Sometimes I even tell God how to solve my problems, as if he needs my help and guidance.
God designed prayer not so much so we could have the things we want . . . but so that we could have Him. Our goal in prayer is not to get what WE want but to become what HE wants.
Today’s Challenge: If you are struggling with prayer and wondering today if God is listening, be assured that God has promised to hear your prayers. In his way, in his time, and according to his will, he will answer.
