Can You Hear Me Now?

“Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.” Daniel 10:12

When a friend told me about the “100 Answered Prayers Challenge,” I was intrigued. It’s based on a book she’s reading, Surprised by Prayer by Karen Barber. Initially, I thought it was just recording your prayers and waiting for the answers. Being a person who sometimes journals, I am familiar with documenting and recording your prayers. I was never truly motivated to keep it up, finding it rather tedious. But my friend revealed to me the twist – you’re not recording your prayers, only your answers. That hooked me. I would record the prayers that God answered until I got to one hundred. I felt it would be a great way to be cognizant, always, that God is working in my life today.

So, a couple of weeks into it and a quarter of the way through, I had an epiphany. The reason that recording my prayers hasn’t worked for me in the past is because I pretty much used it as a wish list. Nothing really wrong with wish lists but it keeps you focused on what you want – not on what you are getting. You could be missing out on some wonderful blessings that are staring you in the face but all you see is that your specific prayer on the list hasn’t been answered.

My daughter is your typical teenager; she wants what she wants, when she wants it. One day, she insisted that I do something for her and when I refused, she treated me as if I never did anything for her. Now, mind you – we’ve had an exhausting school year, culminating in prom and graduation. Everything I’d done to make her senior year special was forgotten, all because I didn’t grant this request. Her attitude offended me and I told her she had a very short memory. She was too focused on what she wasn’t getting to appreciate what had already been done and the sacrifices I’d made. Thankfully, as she is maturing, she’s getting better – not so much “Me, me, me – now, Now, NOW!” I realize my job as a parent is not over as I teach her to appreciate what she has now and not focus so much on immediate gratification. As I thought about her, I thought of my own relationship with God. When we make lists of things we want, sometimes all we see is what we’re not getting.

This challenge has changed my focus. As I document answers, I am reminded that he is present and actively involved in my life, right now. Some of these prayers are long standing, ongoing prayers for me and my family. Like the day I realized that my son was surrounded by good influences, which is always a mother’s desire. Or the day he told me that he respected me. Me. One of the reasons I divorced was because I felt I was losing the respect of my children. I needed to be able to look them in the eye and say truthfully, “God is everything; with him you can do anything. He is always with you.” And then, I had to set about living it and proving it to them because children are quick to expose hypocrisy. It has to be real for you, if it is to be real for them.

Some answers are the result of prayers not even vocalized. When we went to my daughter’s orientation we found that if she didn’t take a class before the term began in the fall, she would have to do that in addition to her regular classes. I worried that she would have too much to deal with during her freshman year and would be overwhelmed. While I sat in the auditorium, trying to figure it out, God was already working it out. By the end of the day, the situation was resolved and she found the class was unnecessary. I recognized that as answered prayer because of the sense of relief that washed over me. God saw my problem and solved it, before it could even become an issue.

I realized that some answers are, surprisingly, almost immediate or soon thereafter. When I pray for favor on my job, God usually turns the situation into a favorable outcome for me. Or when I pray about a person who is being difficult, they do a complete 180 degree turn and are suddenly smiling and pleasant. Some answers are in a comforting word. When I wake up with a song in my mind, I know that He is comforting me. The other night, I went to bed feeling particularly discouraged because of an unkind word. The next morning, I awakened to the words of Time will Reveal by El DeBarge: “More precious than silver, more precious than diamond rings or anything …” That line played in a continual loop in my head and I knew God wanted me to know how much I am worth to him. A love song from God – the thought made me smile.

Some answers are in his presence. When I was newly single, I felt discouraged and out of my league as a homeowner. I was overwhelmed by all it entailed. I’d never taken care of a home before – I didn’t even know how to mow the grass. My pool was a real source of dismay for me. I couldn’t get the darn thing to remain clean! The water would turn a dark murky green. Every time I saw it, it became the symbol of my failure as a homeowner and my heart would sink into my stomach. Still, I would often sit on my deck overlooking the pool and meditate in the early morning or late evening. The humming of the pump and gurgling of the water was soothing. One day as I was talking to God, a shaft of sunlight beamed directly on the pool and the water suddenly turned a crystal clear, beautiful blue. Tears sprang to my eyes and I felt the presence of his Spirit. My dog came over to me and nudged my hand so that I could pet his head – I think he could see and feel it, too. He leaned his big body against me as I cried and was comforted. I thanked God for his Spirit, his manifestation. The vision cleared and the pool returned to normal but that experience remained with me.

So I remind myself now, rather than look at a particular unanswered prayer and feel discouraged, that He is ALWAYS answering me, in some form or fashion. Like Daniel, I have found that he hears me and may be devising an answer, a solution or comfort as soon as (or even before) my need is realized. I think about how I feel when my children only see what I haven’t done instead of all the good that I do. It seems mighty ungrateful. Like my daughter, I’m maturing – God is doing for me what I am doing for her. He’s helping me to change my focus so that I can see and appreciate everything that he does for me.

Be blessed,

Loria

P.S. For more information on how to do the 100 Answered Prayer Challenge, go to: http://www.personalprayerpower.com/php/100prayers.php. If you have a special story to share about how God has answered your prayer, I’d love to hear it!