We know that when we have a genuine need we should pray as that's what God has asked us to do. He haspromised to answer our prayers too:
"If you, then, though you are evil, know to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him"
(Mathew 7:7)
But in spite of asking for a need for a long time if God does not answer we become helpless and begin to even question God's ability to meet our needs. Our thought for reflection this Wednesday morning is, "Our God is always all powerful and is always able to do what He wills".
"Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again, for the Lord had closed up every womb in Abimelech's household because of Abraham's wife Sarah"
(Genesis 20:17-18).
The above verses reveal two things about our God:
1. Our God Hears our prayers
2. Our God Heals our sickness and even opens closed wombs as He is all powerful.
But, inspite of God being all powerful and we praying earnestly, if God does not answer our prayers, what do we do? Two things we can consider doing.
A. We need to SEARCH our hearts.
In Genesis 20: 18, we read that the "Lord had closed up every womb in Abimelech's household because of Abraham's wife Sarah". Why? Because, Abimelech's sinful act of taking a married woman for himself was not acceptable to God. God openly disapproved that sinful act of Abimelech through a dream (Genesis 20:3). God even warned Abimelech that if he did not return Sarah to Abraham he and his family would die (Genesis 20:7). But when Abimelech realized his mistake, restored Sarah to Abraham, and Abraham prayed for him, God was merciful to him and opened the wombs of the women in his household. Do we search our hearts and lives when our prayers are not answered?
B. We need to SUBMIT to His will.
This we learn from Jesus Christ's prayer in the garden of Gethsemane:
"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will"
(Matthew 26:39).
Jesus prayed for the cup of suffering to be removed but then submitted to His Father's will. We too need to keep in mind when we pray, that God is all powerful and that He will answer our prayers only according to His will. Do we often pray and ask God adamently to give whatever we want or submit to His will after asking anything?
The Psalmist says,
"If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened"
(Psalm 66:18).
This morning, let's search our hearts and confess our sins to God so that God may answer our prayers. Let's also submit our needs, wants and our own lives into the hands of our Almighty and all powerful God so that He may do what He wills in our lives.
Blessed day!