Category Prayer

Prayer. What a privilege to pray for others. My husband and I had a wonderful answer to prayer last week.

We were at our cabin and had been praying about our neighbor, who was scheduled for surgery. I prayed that we would have an opportunity to pray with him. There is nothing to show he is a believer, so I didn’t know how it would go when we, or if we connected with him.

God’s timing is perfect.

I forgot to tell you. We were going home and were already packed up. We had stopped to pray before we left.

We were getting in the truck and who pulls down our driveway but none other than our neighbor. He stopped by to tell us his surgery had been moved up until that next Monday, two days away.

We both knew this was God’s perfect timing. I said, “John (not his name), we want to pray for you. I asked my husband to do the praying because I figured John would be more comfortable with my husband. I put my hand on John while he did.

I think I heard a short cry while my husband prayed.

John made it very clear he appreciated it, and I think it brought him some peace. Here’s the point.

Stepping out with prayer and faith

When you pray for God to use you, be willing to step out in faith.

Peter asked Jesus to tell him to walk on water. I figure that’s because Peter figured if Jesus commanded him, then he wouldn’t sink. That makes sense. Jesus answered Peter’s prayer and told him to step out of the boat and walk toward him.

And Peter did.

Most people think he walked just a couple of steps, but nowhere does it say that. He could have walked on water for longer than we know. I believe he walked on water for more than a few minutes. Here’s why.

It says he noticed the waves. Don’t you think in the first few minutes of walking on water, he was probably so excited he didn’t even see the waves? Besides, the waves had been there right along.

“Hey, Jesus, I’m doing it. I’m walking on water.” Then he noticed the waves. The Bible says he began to sink. One doesn’t begin to sink, unless one is in sinking sand. When we sink, it’s immediate. So what does this mean?

I think it means that Jesus suspended normal sinking time. He wanted Peter to have some time to think. Isn’t that true for most of us, most of the time? Very often, our emergencies aren’t emergencies. Unless they are, of course.

We’ve always hear the usual explanation that Peter sank because he took his eyes off Jesus. But the Bible doesn’t say that. It says he saw the winds, and that’s when he began to sink. But he was walking toward Jesus the whole time. I would assume that means he was always looking at Jesus. He didn’t necessarily take his eyes off Jesus, but noticed the winds while he was walking toward him.

So the point might be that Peter, while looking at Jesus, let the winds skew his vision. Jesus didn’t say, “Peter, why did you quit looking at me?”

Jesus said, “Oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Why did you doubt might be, “Why did you doubt me when you saw the wind? I am in the wind. I am on the land. I am everywhere. You can be in the middle of a storm and in the middle of my will at the same time.”

God’s timing is always right.

What about you?

Are you questioning why God is taking his time?

This incident I wrote about earlier was a fast answer. But there are other prayers I have prayed for years and see little movement. And some of you may think her neighbor was already going to drop by, anyway. But remember, we were already in our truck and getting ready to leave.

I choose to believe it was an answer to prayer. When we see God working like this, it behooves us to believe it’s answered prayer. That’s what encourages us to pray even more.

I hope you have a blessed day.