Jesus tells us we can believe what we ask for in prayer will happen (Mark 11:24). Yet, if I’m truthful, this is difficult at times. What if what I’m asking for doesn’t happen? Fortunately, this is where our trust in God’s goodness steps in to help. For if we believe God loves us, cares for us and provides what’s best for us, then we can be confident that whatever the answer to our prayer is, it is what must be in order to deliver the greatest good. As a result, He will position our hearts to accept His answer accordingly – whether our prayer was specifically answered as requested, or modified for the better by our Maker:

Believing: When we approach God in prayer, do we believe He hears us and will answer us (1 John 5:14)? When we place unwavering confidence and trust in His answer, whether it be yes, no, not yet, or even silence, we immediately receive a tremendous blessing. We gain the peace of mind and blessed assurance that our request is with Almighty God and regardless of the outcome, it will be best.

Behaving: After we pray, how do we walk away? Do we continue to hold on, worry about and attempt to take matters back into our hands even after we have laid our requests at our Maker’s feet? Our behavior is a key indicator of our trust and faith (James 1:6). When we gain the confidence to approach, petition and trust our God with our prayers, our work, worry and restlessness greatly diminish. This is when writing our prayers in a journal can come in handy. For when we begin to grow squeamish, we can rebuild our confidence by reviewing all the prayers God has already answered and how effectively they were always handled.

Blessing: Once we receive the answers to our prayers, that isn’t the end of the blessing – because now we gain the opportunity to share how God worked in our life. We get to encourage others with our testimonies and as a result, our faith and the faith of others grow even more (Luke 8:39). For God’s blessings are always designed to be shared and multiplied. What can we share today?

Application: “Seek The Blessed Before The Blessing” – Matthew 6:33
Rather than seeking God for His blessings, we receive much more when we simply seek Him and then trust Him with whatever He chooses. When our desire is for Him, we don’t worry about the outcomes, because we already have in Him all we need. Anything He does, as they say, is simply icing on the cake.