During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. (Hebrews 5:7)
Oh, what a comfort we have before us today! Jesus was betrayed, denied, abandoned, beaten, mocked, cursed, crucified . . . yet while hanging on that old rugged cross, forsaken, He was still heard. He was always heard because He is the beloved Son of the Father, in whom God is well pleased, who lived His life on earth before the face of God in reverent submission. Jesus offered up prayers and petitions in the morning, at midday, and in the evening. With fervent cries and tears He cried out to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane while His disciples slept and from the hill Golgotha while His disciples hid. His life was a life of continual communion with His Father in heaven. Can the same be said about you and me today?
Know this, even when heaven seems silent, you are heard. You may not receive the answer to your prayer that you were hoping for, but you did receive an answer. As I’ve said here many times, God answers with “Yes,” “No,” or “Wait.” But make no mistake, you have never offered a prayer in reverent submission that has not been answered by your Father in heaven.
Let me ask you: Are you not grateful that this is God’s formula in answering prayer? Are you not filled to overflowing with thanksgiving that God does not always say ‘Yes” to your requests? We can all look back over our lives with glad hearts that God said “No” to some of our requests. Our Father in heaven, who formed us in the womb, always knows what is best for us.
Because God sees the beginning from the end and knows us far better than we will ever know ourselves, He knows what we need, when we need it, and how we need it to be given to us. It is like looking through a small hole in a wooden fence. We can see only a tiny portion of the horizon, while our Father sees the whole. That is why the key to our prayer life is to be continually seeking the will of God. When we do that, we will live in the confidence of the truth of this powerful passage of Scripture:
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will . . . we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15)
Beloved in the Lord, be comforted this day, just as the psalmist was, knowing, “I call to God . . . and he hears my voice” (Psalm 55:16-17). Jesus was heard . . . and so are You!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 