Rick Warren writes, ‘When the request is not right, God says “No”. When the timing is not right, God says “Slow”. When you are not right, God says “Grow”. But when the request is right and the timing is right and you are right, God says “Go”.’

Have you ever experienced unanswered prayers? I thought I had some unanswered prayers until I read the quote above from Rick Warren. I started to realize that every single prayer request has been answered. I started to realize that prayer is a conversation I have WITH God not AT Him. I started to realize that every request I have, with the response, comes responsibility, accountability and accessibility.

The responsibility I have is to make sure that I spend more time learning what’s in God’s heart than seeking what’s in God’s hand. When I allow God to show me what breaks His heart, my heart breaks for those things too. I learn to love what He loves and hate what He hates. My prayer requests then align with that. That’s when my prayers turn into “go”,yes and amen.

The accountability to God and my pastoral leadership helps me grow into the person God has called me to be. So when things don’t go my way, I understand and trust that God knows better than me, especially when the answer is, “no”. Or if the answer is slow down, God wants to teach me something a little deeper so I’m prepared to steward and be responsible with the, “yes” when it comes.

Having accessibility to the creator of the universe is like being able to go directly to an owner of a company to understand the vision and mission of that organization. We don’t have to go through levels of management where the vision and mission might get lost in translation rather we have direct access to the highest office in the Kingdom of Heaven. The uncreated one, the one who holds the entire world, universe, galaxies known and yet to be known in the palm of His hand. God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, welcome me to have conversation (prayers) with them. The absolute awe of that reality is profound. Does anyone else feel humbly small in comparison but also amazed that He counts us as the most treasured of all creation?

Lord, help me stay in awe of You, never losing sight of the value that You have for me, let every prayer request I bring to You align with what’s in Your heart. As I get to spend more and more time with you, teach me to be more responsible and accountable with our time together, never taking the accessibility I have to You for granted. Amen.

#prayer