"This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." John 9:3
I came across this verse in a book called "Draw the Circle 40 Day Prayer Challenge." On day four of the prayer challenge, the author, Mark Batterson, discusses prayer from a new perspective than I had been used to. First off, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants their prayer life to change radically. God could not have planned for this book to be placed into my hands at a better time. Whether you are someone who doesn't know Jesus, or you are someone who has an amazing relationship and prayer life with Jesus, this book is for you.
We have all been at the point in our lives when we want to give up. You know the time that I'm talking about when you have felt as if everything is going wrong, and there is absolutely nothing that you can do about it. I am about to tell you a different way to look at these kinds of situations.
On day four of the challenge, Batterson says that we are so fixated on getting out of our problems that we don't get anything out of our problems. This is so true, and we don't realize that God blesses us through our struggles. We often pray for God to get us away from our problems, and that is where we go wrong. We should pray for God to get us through our problems. When we ask for God to get us through our problems, we allow Him to teach us to grow. When God delivers you through your problems, you prevail through your problems.
When I am going through low points in my life, I pray for the circumstances to change, and that doesn't usually happen. What usually has to happen is for me to change. When the circumstances around you aren't changing, that is often a sign that God is trying to change you. He is changing the way you think, act on and feel about the current situation. He is ultimately changing your heart. And sometimes, all we need is a change of heart to realize that God has the ultimate plan for us.
As Christians, we can get upset when we pray for something that we really think should happen, but God says "no" or "it isn't time yet." And when that happens, we must ask God to teach us to glorify Him no matter what the answer is because, in the end, the best answer will bring glory to God. The works of God will be displayed in you when you learn to ask God to get you through your struggles.
Ask God for comfort when His answer is best. Ask God to help you prevail in your prayer life. Ask God to lead you and guide you to choose the right path. Ask Him to teach you to do His will, and to do it His way.
