Don't Put Your Hand Down #399

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Don't Put Your Hand Down #399

Have you ever been the student sitting in class with your hand raised, waiting for the teacher to call your name? You know the answer, feel good about it, so your hand shoots into the air. Then the teacher calls on someone else. Next question, your hand goes up again. Another student gets called on. Then another. You keep raising your hand, even trying to wave it, hoping the teacher will notice, but before long, your arm gets tired, leaving you wondering if the teacher even sees you.

Sometimes prayer feels that way.

We ask God for direction. We pray for an open door. We ask Him to show us which path to take. We tell Him we're willing to go wherever He leads and do whatever He asks. Then we wait and wait with our hand still raised, but God doesn't seem to be calling our name.

Jesus told His disciples a parable in Luke 18 about a persistent widow so they would always pray and not lose heart. The woman understood what it meant to keep asking when the answer didn't come. She returned again and again. Her unanswered request didn't stop her; she believed. Then Jesus tied it together by saying, “...will not God give justice to His elect, who cries to Him day and night?”

In Mark 11, He told His disciples to “Have faith in God… do not doubt but believe that what he says will come to pass; it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” So we ought to pray believing not simply in the answer we want, but in the God we're asking.

To be honest, those verses challenge me because sometimes I pray while preparing myself to be disappointed by the lack of an answer. I raise my hand and ask God to show me the next step while wondering if He's going to call my name and show me anything at all.

Maybe God is teaching us that faith begins there. Faith is keeping our hand raised because we believe in Him, even when we don't know when or how He will answer.

I get it, your arm is tired because you've been praying about the same job, relationship, decision, opportunity, healing, direction, or calling for months and you’re waiting for an answer. You've even watched other people seemingly get called on while you're still sitting there waiting.

Please do not lower your hand; keep it raised. Keep praying. Keep believing. Keep asking. Keep giving thanks and keep trusting. Never forget that God may seem silent, but He is not absent. He sees your raised hand. Trust Him with when and how He answers.

Ask yourself: What have you stopped praying about because you got tired of waiting?

Ask again. Pray again and again.

Are you ready to raise your hand again and live your best legacy? Then visit lighthouselegacies.com and learn how. Also, listen to The Living Your Legacy Podcast.