It's here: Part 9 of the 9 part series - how to get prayers answered
The Rhythm of The Prophets Part II - D20
DAILY DEVOTIONAL
10/20/20262 min read
The Answer I Didn't Expect
“Look among the nations and watch—be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.”
— Habakkuk 1:5, NKJV
Habakkuk had been pleading with God about the violence and injustice surrounding him. He wanted God to intervene, and he could not understand why heaven seemed silent. Then God answered. He was raising up the Babylonians, a fierce and ruthless nation, to bring judgment upon Judah. This was hardly the answer Habakkuk expected. How could God use a nation even more wicked than His own people to accomplish His purposes? The prophet had asked God to act, but the answer left him struggling to understand what God was doing.
There is something familiar about Habakkuk's struggle. We pray with a picture already formed of what God's answer should look like. We imagine the healing, the restored relationship, the open door, or the resolution that would make everything right. Then life unfolds differently, and we find ourselves wondering whether God has heard us at all. The disciples faced an even greater confusion when Jesus was arrested and crucified. They had watched Him heal the sick, raise the dead, and proclaim the kingdom of God. Surely this could not be how the story was supposed to end. Yet what looked like the greatest defeat in human history was the very means through which God was accomplishing our redemption.
We cannot always understand God's methods while we are living through them. Habakkuk had to learn that God's work was larger than the part he could see. The disciples would eventually discover the same truth on resurrection morning. Are we willing to trust Jesus when His answer doesn't resemble the one we prayed for, or does our confidence in Him depend upon His willingness to follow our expectations? The cross reminds us that God can be accomplishing something extraordinary even when everything before us appears to be falling apart.
Bring an unanswered prayer or unexpected circumstance before Jesus. Release your expectations of how He must respond, and ask Him to strengthen your trust in His wisdom and character.
Scripture Promise:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. — Isaiah 55:8, NKJV
Prayer:
Father, teach me to have the same mind as Jesus and say when things are not as I expected or asked 'not my will but your will be done.' In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
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