Getting Answered Prayers!

Remember how I was talking about faith.

I don't actually have trouble having faith. It's just that sometimes I'm not totally convinced of God being more sovereign than what I am looking at. So thus I need to learn to become totally convinced and persuaded of God's sovereignty.

Let me explain. Last week I realised that it hadn't rained for a while. (Who cares that it is summer.) So I did what I always do when it's a bit dry...

"God some rain would be good. Thanks. Oh, could you make it rain for a few days? Hang on, make that a week. Oh, but with intervals so it soaks in a bit and they* don't get wet tonight. Thanks"

And I expected it to rain. It always does when I pray. In fact I can always get made to order weather. I don't have any trouble believing for the weather. Like I said, I always get what I ask for. I pray and God does it. You saw the gist of my prayer... nothing special. Just faith.

James 5:17-18

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

Interestingly the verse before says:

James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

And to prove the point Elijah and the weather is used. He prayed that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't. But then he prayed again. (This time it is mentioned in 1Kings 18.) And it rained all right!

After praying, the next thing they predicted rain for the next week. (Yep, just as I had prayed.) I was wondering what the weather would be like as soon as the week was up. In the low Thirties.

Meanwhile everyone else was saying about how strange the weather is... I started agreeing with one person and God reminded me, "This is what you asked for!"Oh, yeah whoops... I nearly forgot. I mean, once I prayed I knew I would get it so I didn't think about it anymore.

So Curry Blake says we should apply the same to all of our Christian walk... (Don't worry; I didn't tell him about what I do to the weather guys here.)

I had a cut, so I prayed for it... well more like told it to stop hurting and heal quickly in Jesus name. Well it stopped hurting. The next day I looked at it. I could see the new skin coming up already. (It was cut like you get from a knife. However I can't remember how I cut myself.) Normally takes a few days to heal... and stings because it takes a while for the new skin to grow up. I was pretty happy with that result.

So I'm learning.

*My family, who were out in the open that evening.