WHEN WE PRAY, HE ANSWERS US

Reference text: Mark 7:31-37

When the crowd in today’s Gospel pointed out the deaf man with a speech impediment to Jesus, their request was for him to ‘lay his hands on him’. Later in the text(vs 37) however, when this man is restored whole, the reaction of the same crowd is one of amazement, and that drew my attention.

What were they expecting when they made the request of Jesus? Just what did they think the laying of His hands would result in? The song “Emmanuel” from the sound of Salem came to mind when I pondered on these questions: “When we pray, he answers us and when we cry, he hears our voice. We are not alone God is with us Emmanuel, Emmanuel.”

In first John 5:14,we read “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” And that is because we place demands on the firm provisions and promises He has made available to us. Our attitude in waiting for manifestation should thus one of ‘He has answered us’. As far as manifestations go though, how He chooses to do it is entirely up to Him.

Like the crowd, our response can be one of amazement. But surely, it’s not because we were taken by surprise, but because we are in awe of what He has done. Nothing God does for us should really be a shock to our system because it is very clear that there is more He is willing and able to give than we can make requests for. His style of execution and timings may not fit into what we might have expected, but rest assured, when we pray, He answers us.

#sly