What
do we do while we wait for our prayers to be answered?
In
Daniel 10:11-13, Daniel's prayer was answered the first day he prayed,
but he had to wait 21 days for the answer to come.
1.
God hears our prayers.
Psalm 18:6
ESV
In my
distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
2.
God answers our prayers.
1
John 5:15
ESV
And if we know that he hears us in
whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
Matthew
7:11
ESV
If you then, who
are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
3. God uses the time that we wait
for our prayers to be answered.
Matthew
7:11
ESV
If
you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who
ask him!
Our struggle is to not take matters into our
own hands.
4. Don't waste the time that we wait for our
prayers to be answered.
Psalm
130:1-6
ESV
Out
of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If you, O Lord, should mark
iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul
waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the
morning.
A. Focus on God's ways.
Hebrews
10:23-25
ESV
Let us hold fast the
confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let
us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not
neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
B. Focus on God's Word.
Find a verse and
make it personal. God's will is His Word.
1 John 5:14
ESV
And this is the confidence that we have toward
him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
C.
Focus on God's work.
Hebrews
12:1
ESV
Therefore,
since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside
every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us
run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Mark
9:23
ESV
And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
