God answers prayer. Sometimes the answer is "yes", sometimes "no", and sometimes "not yet." I think the hardest answer for us to deal with is "not yet". Why does God sometimes delay in answering? Why does God sometimes make us wait? His word says to "pray without ceasing" but does that mean that we should pray the same thing over and over again? Perhaps. When we continue in prayer, even for the same thing, we are increasing our trust and dependence on Him. We are also learning to listen to Him. As we persist, He works in our hearts and teaches us to desire what is good and right. He changes us and our desires into His image and His desires. We must remember this: "Prayer is how we partner with God in doing what He wants done." It is not getting God to do what we want...We must also remember that prayer is much more than making requests of God for things and situations that we want changed. Prayer involves several things that we can easily remember through the acronym ACTS.
The "A" stands for adoration or worship. We should always come before Him proclaiming who He is and giving Him the praise He deserves. We should come to a time of prayer with a worshipful heart so that our focus begins with Him, not ourselves. God's word says, "You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4:2-3 (NIV)
The "C" stands for confession. We must confess anything that would stand between us and the Lord. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (NASB)
The "T" stands for thanksgiving. We should practice daily thankfulness, thankfulness for who God is, for how He loves us, for all He's given us. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6 (NASB)
And finally, the "S" stands for supplication. The definition of supplication is: to make a humble entreaty, especially to pray to God. (Merriam-Webster) This is where we lay our requests before the Lord. When we lay our requests before the Lord, we leave them in His hands to do with as He wills. We won't always get the answers we want; sometimes what we want isn't what is best. God always promises our ultimate good. When we learn to trust Him even when we don't understand or don't get what we want, then we have entered true communion with Him, then we know that God's "not yet" is what is good, and right, and best for us without a doubt... And this is where we learn that "Prayer is how we partner with God in doing what He wants done."
"Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again." James 5:16-18 (The Message)
Dear Lord, Let us learn and grow in You through our prayer lives. Let us hear Your voice and trust Your will that whatever happens in this life will ultimately be what is best for our lives and the lives of those around us.
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