God Heard You When You Prayed!

Tonight, I’ve been meditating on John 11:1-43 where the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is told. The story of Lazarus is a story of faith in God making a promise and that promise being fulfilled before Lazarus family’s very eyes.

When I began writing for Intercession for A Generation my very first blog was about faith. Where I asked the question where is your faith, and I talked about how we as people of God are on our way to things God has promised us and that we needed to use our faith to get there.

Yesterday, I was reminded in prayer about some things that I had prayed to God about. I had gotten home from my parents house feeling really tired with the intentions on taking a nap, but when I got into my home, I began to pray. As an intercessor, God often brings people and situations before me to pray about and sometimes after I’m finished praying, the question comes to my mind what about me Lord. What about the things that I have asked you for. So, after I finished praying for everyone on yesterday, I simply told the Lord, “I thank you that you heard my prayers.”

That simple statement denotes expectation or faith in the Lord simply saying even though it doesn’t look like anything is happening right now, I trust that you are working on my behalf because you heard my prayers.

Jesus was aware all along that his friend Lazarus had been sick. He stayed away purposefully until Lazarus had died because the situation had to play out the way that it did for God to get the glory out of it. (John 11:2-4)

When Jesus had gotten to the place where he was near the entrance of the town, Mary and Martha sisters of Lazarus we’re overwhelmed with mourning and grief because of the situation. Both of the sisters told Jesus if you had been here, Lazarus would still be alive. They we’re looking at the situation according to how things appeared. Lazarus had been in the tomb four days and in their eyes it was too late for their brother to get up.

Jesus attempted to change their perception saying, “Your brother will live again.” They responded yes I know he will live again in the resurrection at the last day. However, Jesus responded saying, I am the resurrection as he continued to persuade her to believe in his ability to do the impossible right then and there.

Just before Jesus does the miracle he says, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” Again, Jesus is reassuring us that our expectations being placed in him will not be disappointed. If we put our trust and faith in him; we will indeed see the glory of God.

Jesus looks up to heaven and says, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” The very same thing that Jesus is asking us to do by putting our trust in him; he does by putting his trust and expectation in the heavenly Father to bring to pass what he’s believing him for. Jesus is our #1 example of how we are to deal with God.

After all the grief that Jesus endured of people looking at him and talking about him saying things like if he is the Son of God why can’t he have just prevented the man Lazarus from dying. After, the situation appearing to be dead and over, Jesus in faith calls what was dead back to life again showing forth the glory and the power of God.

That same power and authority is what we as believers can rest our trust in knowing that the things that we have prayed to God for and the things that we have been believing God for according to his will; will indeed come to pass no matter what the situation looks like.

When we decide to place our faith and trust in God; we set ourselves up for his miracle to come to pass in our very lives just like it did for Lazarus’ family.