Josh’s Thoughts

Wow! What a tough couple of weeks! First, a week of solid sickness, then two weeks of moving while I worked and did school. Total craziness!

But Tuesday morning I stopped and took some time for reflection, and I realized how many prayers God has answered in a brief time span. It really, really amazed me. You see, I keep a list of prayer requests on my PDA, and Tuesday morning I was going through the list during my daily devotions. As I started going through various requests on the list I started realizing that that many of the requests had been answered. What a great feeling!

One of the things I have been praying about for a while is an apartment in Spartanburg (where I work). I have been having to drive 1 and 1/2 hours round trip every time I came into work or to church or any other activity in Spartanburg. Not only was this very hard on gas, but it was very tiring and time consuming since almost all of my activities are here in Spartanburg.

Well, God has answered the prayer for an apartment. And not only did He open the door for an apartment, He answered some very specific requests that I had. First, I wanted a place that was cheap (I like my spending money). Second, I wanted a place with good neighbors. Third, I wanted a place that’s quiet. Fourth, I wanted a place very close to work (within walking distance). I have to confess that I didn’t expect all of those prayers to be answered, but they were!

As I thought about all of this I started realizing that we Christians can be kind of funny about the way that we pray. I often find myself praying for more than I expect to get. I mean, I had a whole list of things that I wanted in an apartment, and I kind of had this subconscious idea in the back of my mind that if I asked for them all then maybe I’d get lucky and God would give me a few of the things I wanted. You know, shoot for the moon, and maybe you’ll reach the sky…that sort of deal…kind of like I did with my parents when I was younger.

The thing is, the Bible says that God likes to give things that are good to those who ask Him! Just look at what Jesus said here:

Mat 7:11 GW
(11) Even though you’re evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

Now I’m not a prosperity preacher (you know, the type that tells people to come to God so that they can get a new Jaguar), but I do believe that God loves to answers our prayers when we pray for things that are good.

I have decided that I am going to start keeping a list of the prayers that God has answered. It’s such a great faith building exercise. Every time God answers a small prayer, that gives me faith to pray for bigger things. (Keep in mind that I’m not talking about materialistic things, I’m talking about real needs that we need met. I needed an apartment in Spartanburg, but I don’t need a Hummer–although I won’t complain if God gives me one, as long as He gives me the ability to afford to put gas in it too).

Well, I’ve rambled a bit in this post, but I’m sure you guys get the picture. Prayer is such a great tool. It is just so awesome to realize that we as Christians have a direct channel to the Almighty Creator, and that He hears our prayers and loves to answer them!