How We Answer Our Own Prayers
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“Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’” Luke 11:1 (ESV)
A group of teenagers and I sat cross-legged on the church lawn, soaking in the warm summer sunshine. We’d just taken a break from a group game to sip something cold and visit. One of the girls had just returned from a mission trip in a developing nation and I couldn’t wait to hear about her experience.
“So, Renee, tell us about your trip.” I inquired. “What is the one thing you think you will remember the most?”
I imagined her answer would have something to do with a child who captured her heart with a sweet smile. Or a church service she attended that was so very different from ours. Neither of these guesses were right.
“Oh, that’s easy. I will always remember it was on this trip when I learned how easy it is in our culture to answer our own prayers.”
Her statement stunned me for a moment. I wondered, What in the world did she mean by that? Answer our own prayers? Only God answers prayer, right? But before I could pipe up and ask her to explain further, she continued.
Tweet This“You see, here in America, we bow our heads and say grace and ask God to ‘give us this day our daily bread.’ And then? We hop in our cars, run down to the grocery store and buy a loaf or two. We ask Him to keep us safe and warm. Then parents buy their kids the best car seats available, and we crank up the furnace whenever we feel chilly. It is so easy in our culture to provide the answer to our own prayers. But the people I met on the trip? They pray God will give them their daily bread, not knowing if they will have enough food to feed their families that night. Their prayers are bold. They ask God for things they can’t always provide for themselves.”
I had never thought of this concept before and it caused me to think about two things.
First, I want to use my abundance to help answer someone else’s prayers. To share the privilege I have been given with others.
Second, I need to learn to pray bold prayers, asking God for the things that only He can bring about. That is if they are in accordance with His will. To pray for requests in my life beyond the, “Lord, keep us safe and warm and well-fed. Amen.” routine we can often fall into.
Today’s key verse from Luke 11 gives me hope that I’m not alone in thinking my prayer life could use a makeover. Luke 11:1 reminds us that even the disciples wanted help learning how to pray. They saw Jesus praying and desired to follow His example.
Ephesians 3:20-21 tells us God can do things we can’t even dream of. Even provide answers to questions that we often hesitate to even ask. This suggests we can be daring when we pray, asking God for great things done only in His great strength.
My little chat with this spiritually sensitive teen changed me. I began to work into my prayers not only requests that God would help me be attentive to those who need my help, but also that He would help me make bold requests I can’t possibly answer myself. And then, that I would stand back and — in faith — watch Him work.
How about you? Is your prayer list full of items you can cross off yourself? Perhaps it’s time you, too, began to ask, “Lord, teach me to pray.”
Father, teach me to pray more boldly. May I be both generous in giving and faith-filled in my prayers. Help me pray more confident prayers that can’t be answered on my own and can only happen through Your power. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now, I’d so love to know…..what is a bold prayer you have? One you can’t possibly answer yourself?
Please leave comment and share your bold prayer. Feel free to hop on and reply to others’ comments to let them know you are praying for them and expecting God to answer.
My bold prayer is for my husband and I to find a new church home where God wants us to be. Our last church had a nasty split and seemed my family was the only one left. We did not choose sides and we are needing bold prayers for God to put us in a new church with a new church family.
That my health would improve and I will be able to walk without pain once my recovery from my surgery is over.
I’m praying for my daughter to get into a residential treatment program really quickly and that it would be 100% paid for. I’m desperate!
My biggest prayer is why do I have depression? Do I have it for a reason, and if so, what is it?
Was just affirmed as Prayer Deacon at our church. I am seeking guidance on starting the prayer ministry team at church and guiding the church to become a house of prayer. I feel so inadequate and yet so led that this is what God wants me to do. Needing prayer that Satan will not hinder the direction God wants to take this church and this team and that the team He wants there to be, are the team members I ask to join the team. Need prayers for guidance and peace.
Praying for my Brother Jacob, he just got the boot out of my dad’s house with a failure to launch, a failure to get into college, and a failure to maintain a job. He is moving to KY for a job and I just pray Jesus guides him through all the troubles he may face and protect him from harm.
I pray for a fair resolution to the lawsuit over my daughter’s student loans. She defaulted and I cosigned so she left me with the bill for her entire education. I know I’m legally responsible. I just would like to be able to pay my other bills and have a simple life. I’d also like her to take some responsibility and pay me something towards the 25% of my income they’re going to take out of my check!
I am praying for that sweet 3 year old. I pray God will heal him and help him to be a healthy boy.
I am praying for my daughter. She is 11- and about to start middle school. I have raised her in church and feel I have tried all I can do to keep her grounded. I pray that she keeps her head on straight and doesn’t fice in to peer pressure. I am fearful of this world… And the influence it has on our kids today.
I’m praying for a little three year old who has cancer and a tumor in his liver. Praying that the Lord will work a miracle in this young man to remove that turmor from his liver. So far, he is tolerating his chemo treaments without getting sick.
I pray that my 4yr son who has Type 1 Diabetes and that my husband who is in kidney failure and waiting a transplant would be healed. I thank God that they are surviving with these illnesses but as of right now my son will get poked with a needle up to 10 times a day for the rest of his life. I know God can heal them and will always believe.
I pray and ask for you to pray that my youngest son, who has turned to the homosexual lifestyle, would return to God. As Christopher Yuan ‘ s book, “Out of a Far Country” speaks on, that I want him to be holy more than heterosexual. If he comes back to a Holy God, he will change.
Lord, you know that my three grandchildren are going through some seriously tough times being estranged from thier Mother (my daughter). Lord, I can not fix this, “I can’t answer this myself”, I truly NEED you to touch this situation and turn it around for your glorry and the best interest of my grandchildren and my daughter as well. I full heartedly place them in your hands. ~Nana
I need help. I’m trying to honor my dad but he’s controlling my life and is verbally abusive. To make my own decisions in life and follow God’s calling… causes him to act like I’m against him/God. Help me to follow God.
I am praying that my son will end his relationship with the girl that he is dating. She is not the girl for him and this relationship has been life changing for him in a negative way. I have been praying for over a year for it to end but it continues. After reading this I realize that after I pray I then try to answer the prayer myself instead of allowing God to work in this situation. I will have to pray boldly and then be still and let God do what I cannot do.
Praying for my husband to open up his heart to the Lord and acknowledge that He is Lord and Savior.
My mom is addicted to pain medication. She is under Satin’s hand right now and struggles daily. I also struggle with her not being the person I remember her being. I pray that she is released from this, but I know, that only with God, can she realize the problem and let Him provide the strength to get through this. After watching the trailor for War Room, I have decided to be more intentional and specific with my prayers for my mom as well as other needs. I know God can do the impossible. I just have to pray, be obedient and watch Him do the rest.
I have prayed for several things that only God can fix, but have received a no for all of them. At least so far. One is a disability I have had for 18 years, another is an incurable illness I have had for 6 years. Others include illnesses of loved ones, or damaged relationships. I choose to trust that He , in His infinite wisdom, has chosen the better path, despite my bewilderment. Sometimes, when I am at my weakest, He takes my breath away by offering a sign, gesture, or moment meant just for me. That is all the encouragement I need to keep going. Prayers for all of you who need His miracles working in your lives.
Praying for my Marriage. God knows all, and I believe he will restore all we need to have a Bless Marriage.
Praying for a larger and healthier home. My husband and I currently live in our 26ft RV. We moved from Florida to Alabama Nov 2013 to be near our granddaughter whom had been living with us from the time she was 8mths old until she was 2 1/2yrs old, when her mom brought her to Alabama. 6 weeks after her mother brought her here we came to visit and saw that she was not adjusting well (she’d lost a lot of weight and according to her mother she was pulling her hair out in patches). My husband and I wanted to take her back to Florida with us but her mother refused to allow her to go. We went back to Florida, sold, gave away and threw away everything we didn’t feel was necessary and 6 weeks later we arrived in Cottondale AL permanently. Within 3 weeks of our arrival, we discovered that our RV and current home, did NOT have insulation! In Florida we bought propane whenever we wanted to grill a meal, we never thought nor did we faction in our almost non-existent budget the cost for “propane”, which we now had to rely on to help us survive the winter; to compound things even worst, less than 2 months after we moved here..IT SNOWED!! We’d never seen snow in our lives and now for almost a week straight that’s all we were seeing, then it went away and the following week..it SNOWED AGAIN!! Because we didn’t have insulation it was difficult to keep the RV warm so we were going through propane like crazy at $27+ a tank, it was costly. After the last snow thawed, we discovered that because of the warmth of the RV and the cold of the outside, we had a new and potentially deadly problem to deal with due to the condensation…MOLD. We started fighting it as best as we could during the winter and as soon as the weather started to allow for a sunny day, we did a thorough cleaning by taking EVERYTHING removable out of the RV and cleaned and sprayed everywhere with Tilex Mold and Mildew. We did this 3 weeks in a row until we noticed there was no more mold. Summer came and went without incident until the winter of 2014 came and we had to repeat the entire process! NOW, we are in the summer of 2015, and my bigger than big prayer that I can NOT answer myself is: I AM PRAYING that GOD will somehow make a way out of no-way, that we don’t have to go through another winter in this RV. I need a healthy and larger home, for my husband and I as well as our granddaughter who comes and spends “every weekend” with us, she loves (as does my husband and I) living in the RV, she calls it her “RV home”. She is 4years old now and needs a bit more room for her to play and sleep comfortably, I am currently sleeping on the jackknife sofa/bed and when she comes over she sleeps with me, while my husband sleeps on the dinette/bed (He is a good man who works hard and does whatever he can to provide for his family, I am grateful to God for him, and I can’t wait for him to be able to get a good nights sleep in a bed that “fits” even though he doesn’t complain about it). So, you see, my request is not just because we want a “nicer and bigger” home, it’s because we NEED a “larger, warmer and HEALTHIER” home. However, due to our financial situation, we can not afford to buy one, not even a good used one much less a new one. Believe me, we’ve exhausted ourselves trying to make it happen on our own. Therefore, we have learned that the ONLY way, for it to happen for us, is through GOD’S divine intervention. I must admit here, that some days, I have to ask God, for the faith to believe (as the song says). I have been discouraged and I’m struggling with that everyday that passes by and nothing changes. If anything our financial situation seems to be even more dire, which places it further beyond OUR reach. But, GOD!..
(to be continued when the blessing manifests itself. Stay tuned!)
Praying for freedom from my anxiety and depression. Not only does it affect me, but my family is suffering also. I try to hold myself together the best that I can but I struggle so much with finding joy in my life.
My bold prayer is for my husbands salvation. I pray that the Lord will reach down and touch my husband in a way that no one can fathom and in a way he cannot doubt. My husband is a loving and compassionate man with a heart for people and I know the good works he can do for the Kingdom if he will just give his life to Christ. Amen
I have been praying for children. After many miscarriages, my husband and I knew adoption would be the only way to grow our family. Just this month, we were paired with a birth mom and we see God’s fingerprints all over this situation.
My can’t answer it myself prayer today is for my mother to truly feel God’s presence and peace. Her health is failing, she’s been in and out of the hospital, her husband is not loving and compassionate towards her. She has been a believer all her life, but she is seriously seeking Him, but not feeling He is there beside her. It breaks my heart.
I pray for God to heal my knee and my other arthritis issues. I am an active 58 year old facing total knee replacement and I do not want this! Only God can heal it, or provide new technology to avoid it. I do what I can, eat right, exercise, keep my weight off (most of the time) and ask Him to do the rest.
I am praying to God for the growth of our family. My husband and I suffer from infertility. Via IVF, we were able to have our biological son who is nearly 6. We are looking to try to foster to adopt another child. We had a foster situation last year that did not end well. It is hard to trust and press on, but if we don’t take a chance on this and live in fear of the what ifs, Satan wins. Been struggling with this lately. Should we? Will it work out? Will it ever happen for us? Lord please help us to trust and move forward!
I said a prayer for you and your husband Sheri. Prayers for our children, those we have as well as those we desperately want – those are hard ones to totally put in His hands. God has a plan for you, and He loves you so!