One of my convictions is that our church would be a praying church. It’s why we start every year with a week of corporate prayer. I said in a video recap (link to facebook video) of last year that we want to be a church that expects great things from God and attempts great things for God (a quote from the missionary William Carey).
Part of that conviction means we should be on the lookout for how God answers prayer. If we are praying that God would work in and through our church family, shouldn’t we be actively looking for God at work? As simple as that sounds, it actually takes intentionality. The reality is that it is so easy to point out what is going wrong around us that we miss what God is doing. This can be true of your life personally. But, it can also be true of our life as a church family. Complaining about things that are not going well can actually blind us from recognizing God at work in our midst. I’ll be the first to admit I am guilty in this.
So, here’s my attempt to combat that temptation in my own heart. This past week, I intentionally wrote down ways I saw God answering prayer or just moving in our church. I was stunned by how I would have missed so many of these if I had not committed to writing them down and acknowledging them. It made me wonder, how often have I missed the hand of God because I was too busy complaining about the plan of God?
Here’s just a sampling of what I wrote down.
- A new member at our church was looking for a job. She shared this with a fellow church member for prayer who knew of a job opening. Within a few days, this woman got the job.
- A young father in our church has been praying for an opportunity at his work to advance. He put in his paperwork over 18 months ago but heard nothing. He has been patiently waiting and faithfully working. He just found out that he got the new position.
- A church attendee got some test results back that seemed to suggest some bad news. She asked for prayer and wisdom for the doctors. The doctors ran a few more tests and concluded that their findings did not mean what they had thought and offered a different course of action.
· A middle-school student has a heart for his friends to know Jesus. So, he decided he would invite as many of them to a youth event next month so they can hear the gospel. So far, at least eight of his friends have agreed to go to the event.
· Last August, our church commissioned a family (GBC members) to be full-time missionaries to Southeast Asia. Since then, they have been traveling the country speaking at churches and raising financial support. We have been praying for them to secure their visas to this restricted country. Seven out of the eight visas came in, but they kept refusing the visa for one of the family members. The family had already booked their tickets to fly out this week. With many people praying, the family made one final attempt to secure the visa. The country consulate reconsidered the application and amazingly issued the visa. The visa was given just hours before the family had to be at the airport to catch their flight.
I don’t know what you are going through, but it is good to celebrate what deserves to be celebrated. God is at work. Yes, there are still people hurting and circumstances that are painful. But, maybe these short testimonies will remind you that we serve a faithful and gracious God. May we be encouraged and strengthened to keep praying, keep loving, and keep serving so that Jesus may be exalted in our lives.
Maybe you have seen God at work in your life lately. Is there a testimony that you could add to this list?
