Does God Hear Our Prayers?

God sometimes seems silent.  We pray, but there is no immediate answer.  We keep praying and waiting.  We are not alone in this.  Even the great prayer warrior George Mueller did not live to see some of his prayers answered.  He prayed for 63 years for one man to be saved, but the man did not accept Christ until after George’s death.  George, however, did see thousands of his prayers answered in his lifetime.  The majority of these were not instant.  He had to wait and continue to pray.  George Mueller said, “When once I am persuaded that a thing is right and for the glory of God, I go on praying for it until the answer comes.”

God uses answered prayer in our lives to help build our faith.  Working with ReachGlobal Crisis Response, I have been privileged to see God at work repeatedly.  Isaiah 65:24 says, “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.”

After Hurricane Katrina, large teams came to serve and stay at Trinity Church.  Some weeks, there were 100 or 200 volunteers.  New Orleans is hot, and we depend on our ice machine for coolers and beverages.  Teams would arrive Sunday night for orientation and leave Saturday morning.  One week, a volunteer arrived a day early.  While staff members were trying to decide what to do with him, they discovered that the ice machine was not working.  There were no repairmen available on the weekend, and teams would need ice early Monday morning.  The staff was discussing this dilemma when the volunteer interrupted.  “Excuse me.  I am an ice machine repairman.  Can I help?”  God knew the need in advance and provided the solution before we were aware of our need.  The machine was working before the team arrived.

Answers are not always that dramatic.  Often we miss what God is doing to care for us and protect us.  I challenge you to review your own life and see where God has been at work.  Thank Him for not just the big, but the little things as well.