Remembering to Show Gratitude for Answered Prayers

Steve Diggs

Here’s an understatement: Life is busy. If you are like me, the 168 hour week you are presently experiencing is only about half of what you need. Sometimes busyness and tight deadlines cause me to perform in a less than considerate way. I rush out in the morning without kissing Bonnie. I don’t engage in meaningful conversation with friends. I forget to pet the dog.

And, sadly, sometimes I forget to thank God.

There have been so many desperate moments in my life (as I would suspect there have been in yours) when I was left sucker-punched and gasping for air. In the Retooled and Refueled Seminar I speak of the time we learned that our daughter, Megan, had a growth on her spine. The day that we learned that our largest client had filed bankruptcy and the future of our firm was in some question. The doctor’s visit that began with the words, “This isn’t going to be a very pleasant meeting.” Stop for a moment and force your mind back to a similar situation in your own life. Maybe you don’t have to think very hard. Maybe your immediate response is, “Steve, I’m in the middle of one of those moments right now! And, frankly, it doesn’t feel like a moment—it feels like an eternity.”

Don't Let Your Faith Slip

"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip." (Hebrews 2:1)
Something very serious has been happening to the Body of Christ. We've often let the things which we have heard, the message of faith and righteousness, slip.

I'm not just talking about those believers who've been so surrounded by religion that they've never heard about the power that's theirs in Christ Jesus. I'm talking about those of us who have heard the Word and have known the thrill of living by faith.

In my own life, for example, there were times when I'd pray for healing. I'd say all the right words, "Thank God, I believe I receive..." and all that. But inside I'd be thinking, "I wonder why God isn't healing me?"

You see, even though I'd said that I believed I was healed, I hadn't really. I'd staggered at the promise of God, believing what my body told me instead of the Word of God.

Thanking God for Unanswered Prayers

March 26, 2013

Dear Reader: Happy Passover! For the next eight days, we celebrate Pesach (Passover), offering you devotional reflection tied to this very special observance as well as Torah readings for each day. Since no work is done on the holiest of these days, these devotions were prepared in advance for you.
"His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him." —Exodus 2:4

Today is Day 1 of the eight-day Passover celebration. The Torah reading for today is from Exodus 12:21–51 and the Haftorah is from Joshua 3:5–7; 5:2–6:1; 6:27.

What if God answered every prayer with a resounding "YES"? Would the world be a better and happier place or a worse one? For example, what if God had answered Miriam's prayer as she stood among the reeds next to the Nile River where her baby brother, Moses, floated in a basket designed to protect him as he drifted in the water?

As you remember the story, Miriam and her mother had placed Moses in the basket as a last resort. The Egyptians had resolved to kill every single Hebrew baby boy. Miriam and her mother hoped that a non-Egyptian would find the infant and have mercy on him.