Answered prayers
It’s been a little more than three weeks since the Beth Moore conference here in Orlando, and I’m still happy-dancing and processing. I asked God to give me a specific take away from the weekend, and He answered… by showing me that He answers.
God answers every prayer.
His Presence in the CFE Arena, on the UCF Campus, in our City Beautiful, in our Sunshine State… it was an answered prayer.
Every one of the 5,000+ women who walked through those doors Friday night and Saturday morning… they were answered prayers.
The diversity of race, age, denomination, stage of life… answered prayer.
For the seven months leading up to the conference, our team prayed John 4:42 over the event: “…and they said to the woman, 'it is no longer because of what you have said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.'”
The they this verse is talking about is the group of people the woman at the well told about Jesus after He met her, told her He knew all about her messy past (and messy present), and offered her hope, restoration, refreshing, and complete redemption. She went running into her city and told everyone about Him! They were all blown away and obviously wanted to meet this Jesus for themselves. He stayed in their city for two days, teaching them and encouraging them. And that’s where our verse comes in: “…and they said to the woman, 'it is no longer because of what you have said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.'”
They heard, believed, and knew for themselves… not because of what anyone had said, but because they had a personal encounter with Jesus.
That was our prayer: for every woman who walked through those doors to have a personal encounter with sweet Jesus. For every heart to know for itself that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world – not because of Beth’s message or the worship team’s talent, but because Jesus met them.
Yes, Beth is an anointed and incredible Bible teacher! And yes, the worship team is OFF THE CHAIN! (Does anyone still say that?) YES, YES, YES – they are INCREDIBLE vessels! But just like the woman at the well, they have been given amazing gifts, and PRAISE GOD they are using those gifts for His joy and glory; but while they may bring us into His presence, nothing, nothing, NOTHING can replicate, imitate, or replace a personal encounter with Jesus.
And we know God answered every prayer we prayed. You could practically reach out and touch the JOY, HOPE, and LOVE in that arena.
Just like the woman at the well, Beth met with Jesus, told all of us about Him, got our hearts ready and excited… and then just as He did in John 4, Jesus stayed with us for two days and met all of us exactly where we were, and we walked away saying, “…we have heard for ourselves and know…”
He answers every prayer.
That statement may seem like a cliché, or a copout, or even a lie. But I promise it’s truth.
Rarely does the answer look like you’d expect. Most of the time, it’ll blow you away.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” // Isaiah 55:9
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and unfathomable His ways!” // Romans 11:33
“For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations.” // Psalm 100:5
Those first two verses are good news because of the third one. God is good and faithful. He can be trusted with our deepest desires, our darkest secrets, our biggest dreams, and our most painful wounds.
Prayer is pretty much the coolest gift we could ever get. I mean, thanks to the cross (and especially the empty tomb), we get to walk straight up to God's throne, pull up a seat or take a knee or sprawl out with a pillow on the floor, and talk to the God of the Universe. Insane. But just like other cool gifts (a brand new camera, the opportunity to meet your favorite athlete or celebrity, a promotion at work, etc.), prayer can be intimidating.
Thankfully the disciples felt the same way and just decided to ask Jesus how to do it.
Luke 11 spells it out for us: “Jesus was praying, and after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray…’”
Jesus doesn't call them stupid or laugh at their question. He answers them.
“When you pray, say,
‘Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we ought to forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Sweet Jesus breaks it down for us.
Begin with praise. Acknowledge that God is above all else and that He is the only One who can actually do anything with your prayers.
Invite Him into your heart and your mind. Loosen your grip on your wants and wishes, and ask that by His grace, your life would begin to look like His Kingdom.
Ask Him to prepare you for this day. Jesus said "daily bread" for a reason – it’s not weekly or monthly or yearly bread; it’s daily bread. As much as our minds try to plan and control and prepare, the truth is, we can’t. (Yes, savings accounts and stocking up on toilet paper and making lunch dates are all good and important things to do – but trying to stay one step ahead of the One who created the world is not.)
Ask for forgiveness. No one is above sin, plain and simple.
Ask for the grace to forgive others. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God – because of Jesus – has forgiven you.” // Ephesians 4:32
Ask for help. Help to avoid the temptation to be angry, to cheat, to lie, to steal, to gossip, to be mean. Heck, ask for help to avoid the temptation to avoid prayer!
Let’s not be so intimidated by the gift of prayer that we leave it in the box and never take it out and play with it! Let’s be women who push past the fear because we know there is only good to be gained from this gift.
// This might be my most favorite passage in the whole entire Bible… I hope it encourages, energizes, and empowers your heart, friend!
“We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet is without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” // Hebrews 4:15-16
The Message version is downright wonderful too…
“Now that we know what we have – Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God – let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all – all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to Him and get what He is ready to give. Take the mercy; accept the help.”