Be Thankful for God's Answers
Psalm 118:21
Cleanse
Your Mind
You,
O Lord, are the One who hears the cries of the innocent and
the oppressed. You hear the voice of millions calling out to
You, all at one time. You know the voice of each of Your children.
Your ears are sensitive to our praise, our thanksgiving, and
our supplication. Lord, thank You for hearing us. Thank You
for desiring to meet our needs according to Your riches in glory
in Christ Jesus.
Hear
God’s Word
Scattered
throughout the Psalms is a consistent offering of thanksgiving
for God’s willingness to hear the prayers of His people.
In Psalm 118:21 the writer said, “I shall give thanks
to Thee, for Thou hast answered me; and Thou hast become my salvation.” The thanksgiving of this writer is evoked by the fact that God
answers his prayers.
God
is worthy of all thanksgiving because He chooses to hear our cries.
It is revealed throughout the Bible that God’s ears have
always been sensitive to the cries of His people. God told Moses
that the cries of His people in Egypt were constantly before Him
(Exodus 3:7,9). When the godly cry out to Him, God’s ears
are never closed (Psalm 4:3; John 9:31). The fact that God is
not forced to hear but rather chooses to listen, provides an even
greater reason to offer abundant thanksgivings to Him.
Analyze
Your Status
Are
you confident God hears your prayers? To the Hebrews the word
translated hears in the English is one that implies the hearer
is listening and will respond. The more we lack confidence that
God hears us, the less we pray. Because we are driven by what
works at the moment, many Christians strive to solve the issues
of the Church and their own personal lives without ever consulting
God. This pattern naturally results in very little effort at thanksgiving.
Instead, we place our focus on what we think we have accomplished
for God.
Neutralize
Your Obstacles
Doubting
that God hears and responds to prayer causes many Christians and
churches to be prayerless. Our motivation to bring our needs to
God is diminished by this false perception, and it is our prayer
life that ultimately suffers.
One
way to overcome this obstacle is to record in a journal specific
answers to prayer. Another method of overcoming this lack of confidence
is to join a small prayer group. Get together with three or four
other believers and call out to God in a united effort. God will
reveal to you that He does hear and respond to our prayers.
Glean
God’s Promises
Psalm
34:17 says, “The righteous cry and the Lord hears, and
delivers them out of all their troubles.” If you don’t
believe this you will be reluctant to pray. Trusting God’s
promises is the only way to benefit from them. Those who do not
believe this promise fail to see the fulfillment of it. We must
live by faith that what God promises He will do.
Psalm
69:33 says, “For the Lord hears the needy, and does not
despise His own who are prisoners.” As believers we can
have confidence to know God hears our every cry no matter what
circumstances surround our lives. Being assured of this fact motivates
us to offer thanksgiving to Him. Doubting that God hears our prayers
only produces ingratitude.
Expedite
Your Decision
Trust
the God who has heard the cries of His creation from the very
beginning. Demonstrate this trust in Him by praying daily. When
you do, you will discover what John affirmed when he wrote, “And
this is the confidence which we have before Him that, if we ask
anything according to His will; He hears us. And if we know that
He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests
which we have asked from Him” (1 John 5:14-15). This
confidence will ultimately result in thanksgiving and praise for
all God has done.
Study
Helps:
1.
Do you sincerely believe that God hears your prayers?
2.
What are some attitudes or circumstances that cause us to doubt
that God is listening to our prayers?
3.
Make a list of prayers you know God answered. These should not
be only those He answered like you wanted.
4.
What promise can Christians claim concerning God’s response
to our prayers?
5.
What action plan has God revealed to you for becoming a more thankful
person?
