There are 3 ways that God will answer your prayer in your Health.
1. QUICKLY AND MIRACULOUSLY:
Especially early in our Faith, there are signs and wonders all around of God performing amazing miracles for our health and otherwise.
The simple act of trusting and believing in God enough to pray for specific things in your life is an act of Faith that God will reward! These can be things like healing that nagging back injury or knee pain, people doing random acts of kindness to help you, or providing you with opportunity you never would have been able to afford on your own.
As we saw in the life of Jesus, He is a compassionate and loving God. He absolutely can and is willing to heal you of your pain if you are willing to bring it to Him. No one ever received a healing or blessing from Jesus that did not do their part in asking or willingness to receive it. Often, God performs miracles to simply initiate and grow our Faith too.
BELIEVE in this kind of love. With your whole heart and ask away!
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24
2. SLOWLY AND INTENTIONALLY:
More often, God wants to not only give you the desires of your heart, but give you those things that you haven’t thought of yet. Character values like humility, patience, and dependency on God all come through the slow processes of God’s fulfillment. It can also make you enjoy, and not take for granted, the success you will ultimately see.
As much as we would love God to be as “on-demand” as the rest of our life is, that is not how God operates. Everything He does is in perfect timing and for HIS glory, not ours. When we submit to His ways, they are not only good for our life, but good for those around us.
I love the quote from Rick Warren that says, "While you’re working on your problem, God is working on you.”
Another great one by author Elisabeth Elliot: “God doesn’t make the moves for us, He provides the means to discipline.”
Learning DISCIPLINE is required for you to become a DISCIPLE. God has greater plans for you than just your health, happiness and well being. He wants your life to be “a light that shines before others, that when they see your good deeds, they glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:16)
Now, is this process painful at times? Yes. But does God make you suffer the entire time? No.
Of course learning patience is never easy, but He gives you all of His power and fruits of the Spirit that make the surrendered journey one worth taking.
JOY is a choice, and it will be up to you whether you grumble through your process or smile.
3. PURPOSEFULLY AND PEACEFULLY:
Some prayers will go unanswered, as far as our specific requests go. This is the painful truth, and I know you may have some of these where you’re wondering if you are still waiting for your process to go through or if it’s just never gonna happen.
Paul tried to make sense of a prayer to remove what he called “the thorn in his flesh” that he tells us about in the 2nd letter to the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
"7Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
We can see that Paul came to grips with the fact that any human weakness he had to endure in life was for his Spiritual strength. Jesus’ “power is made perfect in weakness,” and there are some things that will keep us humble with loving intention behind it. We must choose to trust God in these unanswered prayers.
Know, however, even if God does not give you the answer you seek, He will offer you His PEACE with it. That is for certain. Just as we see that Paul was writing from a position of peace and even joy over his troubles, you too will find peace and joy in life in spite of unanswered prayers. They are a gift you must be willing to receive.
Remember, though God may close one door, He will open another. And if He closes that door, He will open a window. Have no fear that you will suffer greatly under the power of God's love. Know that any suffering you do endure will "never be greater than you can bear" and will be rewarded in heaven!
I pray that God will use these 3 truths of how God will answer your prayers to encourage you today. I hope you feel encouraged to pray bold prayers with confident faith! I also hope that you are willing to do your part in learning the lessons God has desired you to learn to become the woman (or man) that God has designed you to be. Take all steps with Faith knowing how deeply and perfectly loved and accepted you are.
Amanda,
I read this late yesterday evening, and didn’t get a chance to comment until this morning. I could literally write a book explaining how on point this was with everything I have been working through with God lately. Things I’ve been praying about, had God speaking to me in response, the scripture reference, and all the breakthroughs He given during the fast I’m currently doing. I’ll save it for a blog post, but for now I wanted you to know how God used you in this word of truth.
I have no doubt that this truth will touch and speak to many, but this post could have been specifically and directly to me—that’s how aligned it was to multiple things He has been doing in and with me!
Kaci! I am so glad to see this response (and forgive me if my blogsite somehow hid it from me until now.) I can’t tell you how good God is at doing exactly what you describe!! Using fellow friends and associates to deliver the exact messages He wants us to hear! I’m honored God allowed that to happen through me. I’m rooting for you!! It’s crazy to start your own business and to put yourself out on the line, but God has His hand on you. You are building the skills, learning the wisdom, and cultivating the gifts that He has destined you for. It’s a SEASON of life that is wonderful mainly because you become solely dependent on God. Please reach out at ANY time! I’ll be praying for you!