When Believers Pray

In God, we have everything we need. While praying for a change in circumstances, you may find that God will meet you where you are and be faithful to provide for you there instead. Before we get into our topic, let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, thank You for how You have already shown up and provided for me in mighty ways. I pray that Your Spirit would increase my faith in the power of prayer and in Your ability to meet my needs. I pray that You would give me courage to ask for what I need, trust that You will be faithful to provide for me in Your perfect timing, and a supernatural faith that overcomes all fear and doubt about my situation. To You be the glory! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Acts 4:23-31 (NLT)
²³ As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. ²⁴ When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— ²⁵ you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying,
‘Why were the nations so angry?

    Why did they waste their time with futile plans?

²⁶ The kings of the earth prepared for battle;

    the rulers gathered together

against the Lord

    and against his Messiah.’

²⁷ “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. ²⁸ But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. ²⁹ And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
³¹ After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

Peter and John were in an extremely difficult position in this passage. They had been chastised and persecuted by the leaders of the time. In what I can only imagine was a fearful and discouraging time for them, they turned toward God and leaned on those around them. What is your response when you are facing a challenging situation?

It would have been easy to throw in the towel here, to assume there was too much opposition or too many obstacles in the way for them to achieve their goal and be successful in what God had called them to do. But their response wasn’t to give up and it wasn’t to assume they heard God wrong when He called them. Their response was to turn to God instead of asking for their circumstances to change. This is not saying we should stop praying for change, but rather to reflect on what we could ask for in the midst of our circumstances to help us navigate them. What could God grant you in lieu of a change of circumstances that would help you withstand the weight or chaos of the storm in your life currently?

The encouraging part of this is that we can draw on God’s abundant resources to get through every troubling moment in our lives. For a while now, I have been praying for healing in a certain area of my life. God has not yet responded with a change in my circumstances, and while I’m still hoping for a change in the future, it can be discouraging at times. However, I know that my God is so good, and loves me so much, that in the midst of this, He will provide what I need to walk through it. It is really challenging to accept that God has the power to change our situation and at times chooses not to, but I find strength in the fact that He will provide me with a way to endure whatever I am struggling through and will never leave me alone. Let’s hold tight to the promise that God will provide what we need even when it doesn’t look like what we want. In what areas of your life can you trust that God will move?

As we close today, go to God in prayer. Use the following prompts if you need help getting started.

God, I pray You would show me how to endure my suffering in a way that gives You all the glory…

Father, I pray for a spirit of expectancy and increased faith rather than worry or fear…

May you walk forward in boldness believing God will provide all you need!