5 Ways to Respond to Prayer

Carol McClain       @carol_mcclain 

My roofer-brother-in-law flew four hundred miles to my house to put on a new roof. As a single mom with only my salary as support, his help was critical. He had one day.

Of course, that day threatened rain. The wind already picked up and promised to deliver what the weatherman predicted. This couldn’t happen.

I was walking to my car after picking up groceries to feed him, when the story of Jesus calming the wind came to mind (Matthew 8:23-27). Shyly (I was in a public place) I raised my hand to the wind and prayed, “Be still. Please go away.”

I drove home. The wind subsided, and the rain held off. I knew God answered prayer. I knew I served a great God.

Recently, I read this passage again. Then a detail jumped out at me that I never notice. The disciples, in a panic over a deadly storm, awoke Jesus and said, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

What did our Messiah do? He raised his arms and rebuked the wind and the rain,

And we know, the wind and the sea obeyed.

The part that jumped out at me was the reaction of the disciples. They knew they were in trouble. They knew only Jesus could help him, and when he did the only thing that would save them, they were astonished. More than astonished, they were frightened.

And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another,

Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Why did they ask the God of the universe to do something, then become confused/frightened/unbelieving that He actually answered their request (prayer)?

How do you respond to prayer?

  1. Unbelieving. Do you ask and then chalk up the answer to coincidence? Do you account your answer to anything other than God? Do you believe there are things He cannot do?
  2. Rejecting. Right after this incident, Jesus arrives at Gadarenes. He exorcises Legion’s demons. The countrymen run to see the miracle and then they chase Jesus and His disciples out of the country.
  3. Shocked. Rhoda lived with John Mark’s mother. They prayed diligently for Peter’s release for prison. When he was, what did the young girl do? Slammed the door in his face. She was too shocked that her prayer was answered.
  4. Faithful. Or are you like the centurion whose servant was dying. He told Jesus he wasn’t worthy for Him to come to the centurion’s house. Jesus healed the servant and the soldier left. He asked. Jesus answered. Nothing else mattered.

Of course, the examples above show answered prayer, and we know God sometimes says no. Even if He doesn’t give us what we want, we need to believe in faith that God heard our prayer and answered in the best way possible.

 

 

 

2 Comments

  1. Carol McClain says:

    Sometimes we don’t want the answer we get. Sometimes it’s not what we expect.

  2. vera deford says:

    I am amazed when it finally hits me that my prayer was answered. “Why Me”? Because He loves me whether I love it or not

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.