Has the Lord ever prompted you to pray for something very specific but you were uncertain whether the Lord would answer or if it was really from Him? I’ve been there, and I am excited to share with you how the Lord does answer specific prayers when they are according to His will to strengthen our faith and to bring Him glory.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
Jeremiah 29:11-12
It was a year or two ago when the Lord impressed upon my heart to pray for something specific and trust Him to bring the answer within a certain time frame. I had heard others share how the Lord answered specific prayer; but I wasn’t ready to commit myself to what the Lord was asking me to pray for. It just seemed to impossible for me. I was reminded of the verse in Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”” And I know this is talking about the rich young ruler walking away from Jesus; but somehow the words that are italicized challenged me to step out in faith and watch God work out the impossibilities.
Well I came to the point of surrender and stepped out in faith to watch God answer my specific prayer. By now you may be very curious as to what the request was that I was praying for and whether the Lord answered my heart’s desire. The request was for a trip overseas for my 30th birthday, which sounds silly and rather selfish, doesn’t it? I thought so too at first which was part of my hesitation when praying about it; but the Lord had given me that desire and all he asked me to do was tell only Him, pray and believe. This trip wasn’t for relaxing and vacationing; but rather to visit friends who were on the mission field and see what the Lord was doing in and through their lives.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” The Lord called me to trust Him and by His grace and perfect timing I was able to visit the mission field before my 31st birthday, so technically in my 30th year the Lord answered my prayers and showed that He is faithful all the time. We serve an awesome God who delights in blessings His children and watching grow in trusting Him.