He Answers

Over the last year God has answered so many prayers. Big and small.
I was praying that God would keep someone from falling, and He has kept that person. And I prayed that God would bring encouragement to my friend, even if it was just one little conversation, and He did.  Just last night.
How awesome is it when you get to actually see God answering your prayers? It's pretty neat.

It all started last year when God really seemed to be answering prayers. I prayed for a long time that God would open my friend's eyes, because she had fallen into heresy. That heresy had ruined her and broke her down in her life. Once it had given her a false peace and joy. That heresy imprisoned her and destroyed her spiritual walk.
And at times when I was trying to show her the truth it all seemed hopeless. But finally she emailed me and told me that I was right, and that the heresy she had believed in was all a lie.
The next thing we were talking about was Calvinism vs Arminianism.
Now that one took a long time. And it seemed that God didn't even hear me because it would always seem like a constant battle from her traditions and the true Gospel. But one day she emailed me and said that she was a five-pointer!
I cried when I read that email. I cried because God is so good. Because He is so sovereign. Because He answered my prayers. He answered the prayer of each tear I cried for my friend.
And He didn't answer my prayers on my time. He answered them on His time, when the moment was right.
If He had answered them all on my time I never would have learned to be patient in prayer, or to trust in God that He is in full control.
A lot of times I would pray and God wouldn't answer. I would take that as a 'no'. But it wasn't like that, when my prayers for my dear sister in Christ weren't answered, He was saying, 'Not yet, trust in Me for this."
And that is what I had to do. Let go and trust in Him.
Sometimes the answer is 'no' and sometimes it is simply, 'not yet.'
It blows me away when I look back and see how God had a plan through it all, and see how He answered my prayers. Looking back makes me cry and tremble becuase even when I was at the brink of giving up He kept me up, and He gave me hope. Looking back I see God's plan through it all, and it gives me peace for the future. God is sovereign. God is in control.
Over the last year God has answered so many prayers, and sometimes when it has been a long wait I get blown away by that. Because sometimes it feels like He isn't there, that He isn't answering. But then He does. In His time.
And though the wait may be long, I will always have an answer to my prayers. It may be a 'yes', a 'no', or a 'not yet'.
Look back to see what He has already done and trust in Him for the future. He is in control. He is Sovereign.

God Bless,
  A.W.