Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not (Jer. 33:3).
God encourages prayer. He commands prayer. Our minds are brought into harmony with God by prayer, but this is not all--God answers prayer. His promise is "I will answer thee"; and every true prayer, prayed according to the will of God, is answered. Jesus said, "Ask, and ye shall receive" (John 16:24). In James 4:2 we are told, "Ye have not, because ye ask not."
For God to say Yes to our prayers, there must be a full surrender to His will (Ps. 37:4). His words must abide in us so that we shall ask according to His word (John 15:7). We must have the leadership, the guidance, of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:26, 27). And we must pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:13, 14).
Prayer is asking, seeking, knocking. The answer to prayer is receiving, finding, going through an opened door. Many of God's answers will surprise us. There are great things in store for us.
The missionaries who went to the island of Tahiti worked for 16 years without a single convert. The mission society in England seriously considered abandoning the field, but a few saw that the failure lay in their unbelief. They called a special season of prayer for God's blessing on that island far away, then sent letters of reassurance to the weary workers there. On the ocean those letters crossed others from the missionaries telling of the entire overthrow of idolatry. What seemed to be an invincible fortress of evil had suddenly collapsed before the new Pentecost. "Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear' (Isa. 65:24).
MEDITATION PRAYER: "For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God" (Ps. 38:15).
God encourages prayer. He commands prayer. Our minds are brought into harmony with God by prayer, but this is not all--God answers prayer. His promise is "I will answer thee"; and every true prayer, prayed according to the will of God, is answered. Jesus said, "Ask, and ye shall receive" (John 16:24). In James 4:2 we are told, "Ye have not, because ye ask not."
For God to say Yes to our prayers, there must be a full surrender to His will (Ps. 37:4). His words must abide in us so that we shall ask according to His word (John 15:7). We must have the leadership, the guidance, of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:26, 27). And we must pray in the name of Jesus (John 14:13, 14).
Prayer is asking, seeking, knocking. The answer to prayer is receiving, finding, going through an opened door. Many of God's answers will surprise us. There are great things in store for us.
The missionaries who went to the island of Tahiti worked for 16 years without a single convert. The mission society in England seriously considered abandoning the field, but a few saw that the failure lay in their unbelief. They called a special season of prayer for God's blessing on that island far away, then sent letters of reassurance to the weary workers there. On the ocean those letters crossed others from the missionaries telling of the entire overthrow of idolatry. What seemed to be an invincible fortress of evil had suddenly collapsed before the new Pentecost. "Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear' (Isa. 65:24).
MEDITATION PRAYER: "For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God" (Ps. 38:15).
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