He Will Answer

He Will AnswerPsalm 20:6-7 “Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand. Some boast of chariots, and some of horses; but we boast of the name of the Lord our God.”I am increasingly realizing that this is hard for many of us. I know a lot of people who have lost loved ones lately. They prayed for their loved ones, they had expectant faith, they asked in Jesus’ name, and yet their loved one still died. Has this happened to you, too? I was telling a friend that I would pray for her, and she said that it didn’t work for her friend who died, so why would it work for her? She is not the only one who feels this way.I also had another friend who said she almost felt like she wanted to tell people to stop praying for her because she felt like things got worse every time someone prayed for her. She is not alone either. God is a mystery to us. We don’t understand why He does the things He does. We don’t understand why He allows the things He allows. There are some very specific things in the Bible that tell us how to pray and even what will happen when we do. For instance, John 14:12-14 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father.  Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son;  if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.”When I read this, I think that anything I ask, “In the name of Jesus,” will be done. Jesus healed people when He was on Earth. So, when I read this, and it says that I will do the works that Jesus did, and even greater works than that, I believe that if I ask in Jesus’ name, then God is going to heal the person I am praying for. Yet, sometimes that doesn’t happen. Sometimes the person I am praying with and praying for still dies. This can be hard to accept and hard to understand.I am very much a follow-the-rules, follow-the-recipe, follow-the-directions kind of person. I like to do things correctly, even if there isn’t one correct way. I don’t like it when my mom tells me to put a little of this or a little of that into the recipe. I want to know exactly how much to put into it. I didn’t like it in my Dance Club when they would tell us to improvise for these next eight beats. I wanted someone else to tell me what to do.  Our God is so good, and He has been gently working on this with me. I do better now with adding new things into my recipes or adding a little of this and a little of that. The other day, I was at a “Paint & Sip” event where we were supposed to ask the Lord what to paint and then paint it. I got the words “Heart on Fire,” so I looked it up online and found a great image to paint. However, I couldn’t get it to come out the same. My painting does not look like the original, but I can see what I was trying to accomplish when I look at it.I love that the Bible tells us things like this verse from John 14, which says, “Whatever you ask in my name will be given to you.” I like it because it gives me a framework of how to ask for things. However, I also get stuck at times because when I ask for something in Jesus’ name and it doesn’t happen, I get so confused as to why. I did what you asked me to do, and it didn’t work. Why not? I did what I was supposed to do, but why didn’t God do what He said He would do?The truth is, I don’t know. The truth is, God is so much smarter than we are. Sometimes we ask for things that won’t be good for us, or won’t be good for our loved ones. God knows the bigger plan. He knows better than we do what we need and what our loved ones need. For instance, we might not be ready for our loved one to leave us, but maybe they are ready. Maybe they are tired of fighting this disease. Maybe there are worse things coming for them down the road, and God is preventing them from that suffering. Maybe they are just holding on for us.My grandfather had a stroke at a young age. He was bedridden for a long time. He was alive, but I don’t think he could even talk. On Valentine’s Day 1996, my grandmother told my grandfather how much she loved him. Then she told him that he didn’t have to hold on for her. She told him that she would be ok and that if he wanted to stop fighting, it was ok. My grandpa died that day.Today’s verse says, “Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand. Some boast of chariots, and some of horses; but we boast of the name of the Lord our God.” I think what the Lord wants to tell us today is that He does answer our prayers. He doesn’t always do it in the way we want him to, and so sometimes we can miss the fact that He has answered our prayers. When we wish someone to be healed and they die anyway, this doesn’t look like an answer to prayers. However, there is no illness in heaven. So, even though they were not healed this side of heaven, they were definitely healed. They are no longer in pain, and they are in a better place.I know that doesn’t make it easier on our end. We are still left with the pain. We are left with the loss of a loved one. We are lonely. I think God wants us to know today that you are not alone in this grieving process. He is right there with you. This verse reminds us that even though at times we could turn to other things for the answers to our problems, God is the one true God, and He is the answer to all of our problems. He will help us, and He will answer from His holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening today. Lord, we love you and we thank you for all the answers to our prayers. We are sorry that we get so angry and confused when you don’t answer our prayers like we want you to. Please help us to see things through your eyes. Please help us to trust in you and your ways, even when we don’t understand them. Please give us more and more understanding of your ways, Lord. Please be there to strengthen us when our prayers are not answered the way we thought they would be. We love you and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, amen!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. This month’s theme for mentoring is “How Long, Lord?” It is perfect for anyone who feels they have been waiting for a long time for answers to their prayers. This month, we will learn some things we can do while we are waiting for the answers to our prayers, and we will gain a deeper understanding of why we need to wait sometimes. I hope you will join us! I look forward to seeing you here tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!Today’s Word from the Lord was received in October 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I see Jesus on the cross and He is crying. He is crying and He is saying, “Who is hear with me? With my last breath I think of you and I call you by name because I know you would help me.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace