answer

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Decide to be Challenged

As a Christian, when I’m faced with a decision, I pray for guidance. Sometimes God answers quickly and clearly—a decisive “Do this!” or “Go there!” That was the type of answer we received 26 years ago, when we God told us to move from California to Colorado. Wanting to make sure we were hearing correctly, we asked for Him to confirm his direction at least three times in the next week or so. We received six signs in three days. With that kind of verification, all we could do was obey!

Sometimes He tells me no. That’s helpful too. Should I accept this job offer? No. Should I eat that brownie? No! (Darn.) I may not always like being told no, but at least there’s no confusion about it.

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Does God Always Answer Prayer?

I believe that God always answers our prayers—the Bible is full of examples, plus we have verses such as Matthew 21:22: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Yet, for many of us, our life experience tells us otherwise. Does that mean God lied? Is the Bible untrustworthy? Or, perhaps, is it our lack of understanding that’s causing the problem?

Many years ago, Pete and I dreamed of moving to someplace less urban than the middle of Silicon Valley. We were tired of the traffic, fed up with the smog, and yearning for a simpler lifestyle. We prayed, and it seemed as if God was saying yes, get ready, you’re going to move. Great! We’ve always enjoyed the northwest, so Pete spent several months investigating jobs in the Seattle area. Things looked positive, but then the doors started slamming shut. We were so confused. Hadn’t God given us the go-ahead? Had He changed His mind?

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Happy Prayerful New Year

What are you praying for?

As we close out 2015 and begin 2016, my friend’s blog post suggested we ask God some questions: “What prayers did You answer in this past year?” and “Are there any areas You want me to focus on in prayer this year?” (You can read her excellent post here.) As they were meant to do, those questions started me thinking….

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Good God

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away… and sometimes He gives back again. You may remember my mention of our friends, Gene and Nancy, who lost their home in the Black Forest fire. They lived on the same block where the fire started, and had literally minutes to wake their daughter-in-law, grab the dog, the computer hard drive, and a box of photos (stored by the front door!) before jumping in their cars and fleeing for their lives.

Their house burned down, along with the accumulated treasures of fifty years of marriage. They are mourning their loss, and it is substantial. Yet, they have no doubt that God is good and that He is watching over them. For example…

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Praying for Unbelievers

Have you ever been told something like this?

You pray for those prodigal children! You pray for that unbelieving husband, or spouse, or family member! You know God is going to answer those prayers. It’s his will that everyone be saved, so you pray—and God is going to raise them up!

Yeah, me too. There are plenty of verses about how God answers prayer. Most have some sort of condition, for example (italics mine):

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Always Ask

“I don’t need to pray about that. The answer is obvious. “

We’re all used to asking God about things we’re unsure of.

  • Should I move across the country to pursue a relationship?
  • Should I volunteer to help that homeless family?
  • Should I repair that aging appliance—or spring for a new one?

But what about times when we already know the answer, or think we do?

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A Really Good Book on Prayer

I’ve been reading a really good book lately. It’s called Why Don’t I Get What I Prayed For?, by John W. Cowart. I think you should read it too.

We’ve all dealt with unanswered prayer. From the “testing God” demands of our Christian babyhood (God, give me a parking spot right now!) to earnest, faith-filled supplication for the healing of someone we love, we don’t get everything we ask for—at least not in the form we expect. Is God not there? Is He not listening? Maybe He doesn’t love us—or maybe we’re just not good enough. Even though we know better, thoughts like these tend to run through our heads when we’re frustrated, overwhelmed, or angry at God.

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Read This

I don’t normally borrow material from other blogs, but this article by my friend Cynthia Bezek is too good to miss. I can’t re-post it here, since it’s copyrighted by NavPress, but I can send you to her site.

So click on over to “Let’s Talk” and be blessed by what Cynthia wrote about God’s answers to prayer. As her title states, there is An Alternative to “Yes,” “No,” or “Wait”!

Then read some of her previous posts. I think you’ll agree that her blog is well worth subscribing to.

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Worth the Wait

For the last several years, a friend of mind has been praying for a door to open. While she waits, her life is on hold—career, education, family—it all hinges on God’s answer. And until now, God didn’t say no, but He didn’t say yes either. In fact, He didn’t say anything at all.

Last week, she finally received an answer to her prayers. Amid the joy and excitement of God’s “Yes!” there’s the nagging question of why did God wait so long? From our perspective, He could have answered years ago. Even if He wanted her to wait, it would have been a huge help to know how long the wait was going to be. If you’re a planner, like I am, you understand.

Instead, God was silent while my friend prayed… and prayed… and prayed….

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A Church in a Church in a Church

Over the past few months I’ve written a couple of blogs about my confusion over how to “do” church—one in April and one in May. I explained that at our current mega-church, I felt more like a member of an audience than a member of a family, and that I was exploring other options. At the same time, my husband emphatically wanted to stay right where we are, and I wasn’t going to make any changes without him.

It seemed like a stalemate. Happily, God is pretty amazing. In His wisdom, He had the situation under control and a solution was waiting for just this moment.

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