What's in Your Prayer Bowl?
“Each of them had a harp and golden bowls
Brimming full of sweet fragrant incense -
Which are the prayers of God’s holy lovers.”
Revelation 5:8b (The Passion Translation)
Why do some prayers get answered quickly and some not so much?
Do you persevere through prayer, when you don’t see answers?
When answers don’t seem to come, does that change your prayer focus?
Sometimes God answers prayers dramatically, some little by little. We often see only small answers to a hopeless issue, which always give us hope. For some prayers we may never see the end result, not this side of heaven anyway.
A Mystery
For me, there is a mystery about the timing of answered prayers. It can be a choice to lose hope or remain faithful in prayer when we can’t see results. John received a vision that is told in the book of Revelation. This book has so many marvelous details of God's plan yet contains such great mystery. John saw golden bowls filled with prayers from God’s saints. Let this be our confidence that our prayers reach heaven and God views them as sweet, as in a rich dessert.
Persevere
Honestly, sometimes I tire of praying for that “thing” that only God can repair. For me, I choose to stand faithful in prayer, persevering as Jesus teaches in the parable in Luke 18:1-8. Jesus also gives us a strong example on how to persevere in the story of Mathew 26:36-45. This is a beautiful story of how Jesus prayed during his most agonizing time. I can’t imagine after a large meal, after he spent hours discipling his disciples, and even though it was late at night, then he went alone to pray. He did so with such perseverance! I would want to just go home and crawl into bed.
Change of Focus
I have learned when I can’t see the answer to shift my prayer a bit. I praise God for hearing me and express my thankful heart because I trust God is at work on my request, often behind the scenes. I continue to pray however with a heart that is grateful and full of trust. I know, or choose to know God hears me and cares about each circumstance or person I pray for.
We can trust through faith that the God of the universe hears every prayer. God loves us. He hears us and he does respond in His merciful wisdom and perfect timing.
Will you continue to give prayers to your Heavenly Father and think of it as filling a prayer bowl which will fill then overflow? At such time, God’s blessings will be visible.
Prayer has become my lifeline but more it has become my JOY. It is where I seek and find the Lord.
There is no greater joy than knowing He is by my side no matter what life brings.
Realization of His presence is through prayer.