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Have you ever wondered, God do you hear my prayers? When prayers go unanswered or they are answered in a different way, sometimes we begin to question God. Why Lord? Why is this happening to me? I would like to get married, but I can’t find the right person. Lord my loved one is very ill. Please bring healing, and healing does not come in this lifetime.
The good news is the Lord does hear our prayers. Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes it is not right now. Sometimes the answer is yes, but not the way we think. Sometimes we don’t always understand what God is doing in our life and that is ok.
Jonah begins to pray as he sinks to the bottom of the sea. In his mind his life will be over shortly. While he is in the midst of this great distress, he is swallowed by a great fish.
6 I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! Jonah 2:6
I think we can safely say that Jonah did not anticipate his prayer being answered by being swallowed by a great fish. In life this happens more often than we know.
I prayed for my father to be healed from cancer. The last words he spoke to me, “Son I will be just fine.” My prayer was answered, but not the way I desired. He was healed, but the healing took place in heaven.
In the book of Revelation, the Lord tells us our prayers are so precious to him that he keeps them in a bowl, like treasures from his children. 8 And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.
When it comes to prayers, I don’t have a lot of answers, but I do know this. Our Lord is loving and faithful, and He alone knows what is best. We simply have to walk by faith and trust. Also keep praying because the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective. James 5:16.
Listen to hear more about Jonah: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/journey-with-jonah-1/jonah-repents
Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jon 2:6). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.