I TOOK MY TROUBLES TO THE LORD; I CRIED OUT TO HIM, AND HE ANSWERED MY PRAYER
(Psalm 120:1).

I am reminded of a specific incident where I took my troubles to God.  I prayed for weeks on end.  I pleaded with God.  I begged Him for an answer.  Day after day, I waited for an answer, but nothing happened.  God was silent.

A month later, I talked to a friend about my plight: “God never answered my cry. I don’t think He cares about me anymore. In fact, I think He has abandoned me.”  Suddenly, as I was speaking, I remembered something.  I remembered hearing a little voice in my heart about a week after I started praying about my problem.  As I focused on the message of the little voice, I suddenly realized it had been the answer to my prayer, all along.  Then I wondered, “Why did I not hear the answer at the time it was conveyed to me?”

Today, I know the answer to that question. At the time, I already had an answer visualized in my mind.  MY answer filled my entire mind; there was no space for GOD’S Answer.  My mind was not open to the radical Answer God wanted to give me, so I blocked it out of my mind and heart.

FOR IT IS GOD WHO WORKS IN YOU TO WILL AND TO ACT ACCORDING TO HIS GOOD PURPOSE
(Philippians 2:13).

Be certain that your Father DOES answer your prayers, but His Answer might be different from the one you are expecting.  It might be radical… revolutionary…extreme.  His Answer might not fit your purpose, but it will fit God’s Purpose for you.

LET US THEN APPROACH GOD’S THRONE OF GRACE WITH CONFIDENCE, SO THAT WE MAY RECEIVE MERCY AND FIND GRACE TO HELP US IN OUR TIME OF NEED
(Hebrews 4:16).

When you pray and lay your problem before God, give Him the freedom to answer you in any way He wants to, according to His great Mercy and Grace. Push your own preconceived answers aside. Then, HIS Answer will enter your mind and heart.

Are you ready to open your mind and heart to God’s Answer that might be radical, revolutionary, and extreme?

PRAYER: Open the ears of my heart, Lord God, so I may HEAR what YOU want to tell me about my situation, about my purpose, and about my problem. Open the eyes of my heart that I may SEE what YOU are trying to show me, instead of being blinded by my own ideas and expecting my own answer to materialize.