Wednesday's Musings: An Immediate Answer to Prayer USED

Modified and used 3/4/21

1 John 5:14-15  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Yesterday I had a discussion with my assistant Randy about my prayer times.  I said often when I pray and ask God for direction the answers don’t come right away.  They usually come when I am walking or doing some mindless task that doesn’t require concentration.  Today I was blessed to be able to take a long walk and to sit in the park for awhile.  I pondered something I heard on a news program.  It was a follow-up to the story of a stalker getting into Sandra Bullock’s home. He had notes saying that they were married and her child was his.  He was obviously deranged.  The analyst said that social media has led many to feel a familiarity with celebrities that goes beyond what it should. 

I then thought about our relationship with God.  I wondered if we have become too familiar with God; if we don’t think of him as some benevolent being in the sky. I thought about scriptures that say God brought fear (awe) and trembling to those in his presence.  Is God our friend? How will it feel to stand before his throne in the heavens?  How would I react if I could sit now at Jesus’ feet?  I prayed some favorite lines from the Psalms then decided to read some more on my iPhone NIV app.  To my surprise when I opened it, Ephesians 3 beginning with verse 14 immediately appeared. It is a wonderful prayer by Paul for the Ephesians.  Then I scrolled up to the beginning of the chapter and found my answer in verse 12.  “In him (Christ) and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”  Praise be to God for listening to my question and providing the perfect answer. 

A Prayer for the Ephesians

4:14-19 For this reason I kneel before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Amen.

Blessings,

Paige