Recently, my husband got a new job. He had been unhappy at his old job, so we prayed. And almost out of nowhere, this new job fell in his lap. He is very happy in his new position and one of the benefits of the job includes opportunities for us to visit family because of its various locations.
Not too long ago, our granddaughter asked us to pray for good tips at her weekend job because she needed extra money for college. We set a dollar amount in our minds and prayed. She received more than the amount we prayed for.
Also, in recent months, a friend was in the hospital being kept under deep sedation due to the severity of her condition. Lots of people prayed for her. She is home now and doing well.
These are just three examples of answered prayer. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the outcomes of all three situations. Each solution was beyond my expectations. Each answer was considerably more than I imagined it would be.
In all three of these situations, there was a need. I don’t think anyone would disagree with that. But in those circumstances, people may have different opinions about how that need should be handled. Even when we pray, we might have an idea in mind of what the solution could or should be. That indeed was the case for me in these examples. I limited God in my expectations, but He was not stifled by my ideas. He promised to supply all our need (Philippians 4:19), and He did so in a wonderful way!
In the case of my husband’s job, I knew that he needed a new job, but I never dreamt that he would get another job without the job search and formal interview process. But he talked to his new boss on the phone, they agreed on the terms and the job was my husband’s on a “hand-shake”. God answered our prayers – beyond my expectations!
In our granddaughter’s case, she asked for prayer while my friend was visiting us. I asked my friend to pray with me. She proposed the dollar amount in her prayer. Inside, I thought, “that might be too high”, but I thanked God for blessing our granddaughter. God answered our prayers beyond the amount that I initially thought was too high. He supplied our granddaughter’s need super-abundantly!
In the case of our friend in the hospital, I prayed earnestly but I was concerned that the condition was too serious for her to recover from. I worked to fight those thoughts in my mind and continued to pray. God answered all of the prayers and she got better. Despite my reservations, God healed her.
I learned a lot from each one of these scenarios. First, I was reminded that God is much bigger than any of my expectations. So often in life, we limit God in by restricting Him to our finite natural understanding. We may have a hard time expecting to receive things that we can’t picture in our minds. But God sees way beyond the confines of our thoughts. His vision is exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20), and that is the way He is able to answer our prayers.
Secondly, I was reminded that God is love and full of grace. God does not expect us to be perfect. In fact, He never forgets that we are frail. He is tender and kind, just like we are for a newborn baby. Our tenderest care is evoked by a newborn because we know that they are helpless on their own. God remembers that are dust (Psalm 103:14) and He provides graciously and mercifully for our every need.
Thirdly, I was reminded that it is NOT all about me. Sometimes when I pray, I think that the answer to that prayer is dependent only on my believing. Oh, I know that believing is necessary, but there is a fine line between relying on my own believing and relying on God’s abilities. I know that God honors our believing, but so much of God’s care is simply grace. I heard it said in a Bible teaching that God knows exactly who we are and what we can do. In this world, our bodies and souls are imperfect. So why do we think that we (in our imperfect bodies and imperfect minds) can have perfect believing? Can’t be done! So, it has to be by God’s love and grace.
These three outcomes to our prayers were remarkable examples of the goodness of God and His ability to bless His children. God is omnipotent (all powerful), so He is able to surprise us at any time by his marvelous works. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son for us all. If He was willing to do that; what wouldn’t He do for us who have accepted His son as our Savior?
When we receive miraculous answers to prayer, REJOICE! We can always be pleasantly surprised by God going beyond our expectations and blessing us more than we anticipated. That is His way of demonstrating His love for us. Have you ever wished that you could really help someone, but you lacked the means? God yearns to take care of His children and He has the means to provide for everything we need and then some!
God is a loving Father, who wants the best for His children. He is not keeping a tally of the things we do wrong and the things we do right and measuring us against that. He looks at us as His beloved children and showers us with His grace and mercy. He LOVES to take care of us. So, the next time you pray, don’t be afraid to ask for the miraculous and allow God to surprise you by what He can do! “Let go and let God!”
Psalm 86:10
For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
Note to my readers: Let’s pray for great things for each other and see what God will do. Thanks for reading!