"Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serve the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality." Romans 12:10-13 (NKJV)
Like me, you probably don’t remember the day of your birth. You may have heard your mother telling the story of all she went through from the pain of labor to the joy of holding you in her arms for the first time. Or you may have been present for the birth of your own miracle baby!
You may have had months where nothing seemed to be happening. Finally, you heard the heartbeat for the first time and it was breathtaking! You saw the ultrasound and posted it for your family and friends to see and hear the good news of a coming birth! This is all part of the process of this life-changing little, yet big miracle!
This process of childbirth is unforgettable! Your body is changing, and your emotions are all over the place. You are trying to reserve your energy and emotions from being exhausted. You may not feel like doing anything and you isolate yourself from people. By the ninth month, you were ready for your little bundle of joy to come. It seems like a never-ending process of waiting and watching the changes happening day after day, week after week, month after month. As time went on the growing frustration of eating challenges, medical concerns, or inability to sleep is exhausting. You simply want to hear the cry of childbirth and hold your precious sweetie. Yet the process didn’t go as you expected.
Prayer is a lot like the long pregnancy process. Things don’t always go the way we expect. We hope as we go to God in prayer, that things will change, and lives will be transformed. There are times when we don’t see or hear anything from God. Things don’t seem to be moving and changing, yet that is when we most need to persevere and intentionally lean into God's goodness and faithfulness.
Silence doesn’t mean He is not listening. His silence doesn’t mean you have done something wrong and you’re on God’s “bad list” and now He’s ignoring you. You don’t have to grit your teeth and bear down harder in prayer hoping to get God’s attention. He hears your prayers. God wants you to know that even in your dark times of laboring in prayer, when seeming unanswered prayer is all you see, your miracle is about to burst forth!
Your perseverance in prayer births the long-awaited cry announcing God’s miracle! God wins every time your faith is displayed! You win every time your faith is displayed! God partners with you to birth something new. Together you create something life-changing!
Does it feel like your prayers have been met with some unseen challenges? There is purpose in the waiting. Character and faith are being built in you. What preparation are you needing to make so that you will be ready for your supernatural surprise?
We declare that God is empowering you to be diligent, to be fervent in spirit as you serve the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, and continuing steadfastly in prayer. Your destiny is being fulfilled! We declare that it's in this place of great challenge that your greatest miracle arrives!
Photo by Jonathan Borba@unsplash.com
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