You know there are many people in the world that pray, yet for many nothing seems to happen when they do. It seems reasonable that if God could hear what you are saying and He is very interested in you as a person, surely He must be willing to help you if He had the power to do so. I think you will find that God is always able and willing. The primary cause for your unanswered prayers is typically a lack of belief as demonstrated by a lack of believing action on the part of the one doing the praying. If you believe there are a hundred dollars laying in your driveway, I’m sure you would walk over and take a look. You couldn’t imagine remaining in your chair while begging God to bring the money into the house. The problem with praying amiss, if you will, is that all of the time you are waiting on God, God is waiting on you. Sometimes there may be nothing left you can think of to do, but even then your job is to keep saying what God’s Word promised you and keep moving ahead. Whenever we stop in our tracks, for any reason, we end up keeping ourselves further away from what we need. When you pray; when you believe God when you pray, there will always be something you need to do in alignment with whatever it is you prayed for. In other words, believing is a verb and that verb signifies an action on your part. In this God’s message is thus, “If you move I move.”
When you pray and pray and sit around wishing God would do something for you, you end up spending a lot of time sitting around. You wait for God as if He is somehow withholding something from you. I can absolutely assure you, God is never the problem. The problem is that you don’t really believe God will do or wants to do something about your dilemma. Life itself informs you that if you want something, you have to invest the time required and pursue it. If you are not chasing anything then you won’t find anything. God has not complicated the process with formulas or mysteries. People add that. If you believe God will help you find a new job, waiting all day by the phone or waiting for the answer to show up in your mailbox is not how life works. You have to start applying for jobs. And, even then, when you pray for a new job you have to become specific about what you want, or at least have some of the basics. This whole notion of praying, “God send me what I need” without articulating what you need is like dumping your coffee into the pool in order to get it to warm up. The reason people pray this way is because they are afraid they cannot actually get what they want, but instead have to settle for whatever whenever, then call it a blessing. Your job, my job, is to get as clear as possible about what it is that we need. When you get real clear about what you want, pray about it and then take any actions you can think of to get it, you are now synchronizing yourself with God and when you move, He moves.
How frustrating it must be to God, (if God gets frustrated) to hear the multitudes praying to Him for a need, yet not taking any action concerning their need. When you get serious about getting your needs met, especially those long standing chronic issues that have tortured you over the years, you will begin to make some progress towards those things you so desperately need. ‘Hope so’ prayers yield nothing. One man put it this way, “you have to get clear and concerned about what you need. Get clear about what is wanted, then become concerned about getting it.” If you really need something to happen and you are very clear about what that is, you need to become concerned about receiving it; concerned as in taking some action, making some moves, getting yourself out there in the world. I muse sometimes that much of what we need is going to come via those people we keep avoiding or situations we do not want to put ourselves in. Which is worse, getting out there in life and taking uncomfortable action or sitting at home in desperation over unmet needs? What is it that you really, really need to happen in your life? Don’t limit yourself or aim low. What do you need in order to make your life complete? Once you are clear about it and honest, get damn serious about it coming to pass. Remember, God is not withholding anything from you. He would like for it to have happened yesterday as well, but He is not going to overstep your free will. Get serious about what you need and make some moves. “If you move I move!”
As I look around me and participate in my own life as well, it becomes obvious that the adversary has the whole place all screwed up. Bad things happen to good people and injustice often prevails. Life is not fair and people do not always get what they deserve, especially those that endeavor to live for God. Time and chance happen to them all. Yet, God has made a way out for us. God has promised His unending love and care for us, so there must be something we need to do in order to access it. The thing we need to do is not to overly concern ourselves in being better or repairing in ourselves that which we do not have the power to repair. Instead our only requirement is to believe God. Believe what He did for us in the life of His son. Believe in who He made us to be instead of consuming ourselves in everything we are not. Believe that He hears our every prayer and move out taking bold action towards the things we so desperately need. If you want God to move, then you move first. Go get it. Look for it. Find it. Don’t stop looking for it until you get it. When you get to that place in your mind and heart, you will find that God has always, always been more willing to answer your prayers, than you are to pray them. After all, if you move He moves…
Just some good thoughts.