I'm fascinated by the fact that God has a practice of answering our prayers before we even finish praying them. Right now in my Bible reading, I'm having fun underlining every instance I find in which a character has not yet finished praying, sometimes even just in their heart, before the answer is already set in motion. They may not see the fulfillment right away, but it is recorded that while they were still speaking, God was responding.
Listen to the promises in Isaiah 65:22-24:
"No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
or plant and others eat.
For as a the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them.Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear."
How awesome it would be to see the activity in the heavenlies when we pray. Daniel chapter nine describes a time when Daniel was praying confessing his sin and the sin of the people, and before he even finished praying Gabriel appeared to him with a word from God. I would love to just sit back and watch God give angels assignments to meet the needs of those who are still in prayer! And I would love to see the faces of those people when they saw the fulfillment of that prayer. I do get to see that part from time to time, and what a beautiful thing!
It was probably a year and a half ago when the story of Daniel became so real to me in a Bible Study we were doing. It was the first time I took notice that the answer came to Daniel before he could even finish speaking. That penetrated my heart so deeply that I have never viewed God or prayer the same way. It deepened my trust and confidence in Him. The neat thing is I have found similar scriptures throughout the Old Testament where God wanted us to know He was answering from the very moment someone's heart cry went out to Him. It's repeated so many times that He must want us to know! When I want to drive a point home with Kylee & Aubrey I tell them over and over and over until I see they've gotten it. I can be obsessive with it to a point that even drives me crazy, but I have to be sure they understand... I want them to know! How deep the Father's love is for us. Some things He intends for us to know, and how precious that over and over in His word is this amazing promise that from the moment our heart cries out, and sometimes even before, He's on it. We may not see the fulfillment soon. Sometimes that can take weeks, months, and in some cases years. But rest assured, from the moment we even begin to pray, He sets the answer in motion, and He'll see that it comes to pass.
You can trust Him today, because He loves you and has your very best interest in mind! You may even find a quiet moment today just to give Him praise for the unseen fulfillment of your prayers. I like to call it thanking Him in advance.
Have a blessed Monday and week to follow!
~Josh and Jill
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