10 Days of Encountering Jesus EverywhereSample

Day 4: Relentless

During my grandmother’s battle with cancer, people all over the world united in prayer. I remember sitting with her as she opened baskets of letters, reading and weeping at the countless pages of prayers people sent after making their request for her healing known to God. Every week I watched as church staff marched around my grandparents’ home in prayer for her healing. I listened to hours-long phone calls that my grandparents had with prayer warriors in different time zones. I heard world-renowned pastors pray over her. I’d never seen the body of Christ unite in prayer over one person, and I was hopeful she would be healed.

When she passed away, I was bewildered, quite honestly. I held my breath at the funeral hoping God would do a miracle in front of the thousands of people in attendance and those who watched online. When He did not, my heart was confused. But then my uncle, Jonathan Evans, got up and gave a powerful eulogy. He told of his own struggles and how he had wrestled with God. “If we have victory in Your name, didn’t You hear us when we were praying?” he said. But he then explained he’d heard from the Holy Spirit:

Because of the victory that I have given you, there was always only two answers to your prayers, either she was going to be healed, or she was going to be healed. Either she was going to live, or she was going to live. Either she was going to be with family, or she was going to be with family. Either she was going to be well taken care of, or she was going to be well taken care of. Victory belongs to Me!

Whoa.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15 NIV). When we ask according to His will, it’s true that the answer is always yes. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear understand that we, as children of God, can make our requests known to Him who does not reject our prayers or withhold His love from us and receive a yes according to His will (Psalm 66:20).

But understand that His yes doesn’t always look like our expectation. His ways are not our ways. Approach His throne with confidence, knowing He hears you. And then prepare to be in awe of how He may answer, trusting in the perfection of His will.

Reflect

Think back on prayer requests you’ve made to God, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern if they were asked in His will. Are there any prayer requests you’ve made that you felt were a no, but now with the understanding that you have, were actually answered with a yes?

Pray With Me

Father, give me the confidence in You that when I pray in Your will, You will answer me. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear Your ways, which are not my ways. Help me to see and accept Your yes, even when it doesn’t look like my own.