Do you ever wonder if God hears your prayers?
Do you think you have made too many mistakes for God to have grace and mercy on you?
God hears your prayers. God loves you. Don’t think what you have done is too bad for God to forgive you, when you repent of your sins and ask God for forgiveness. God loves you and will forgive you. God is also just and fair. So, you will have to face the consequences of your actions, and at the same time be forgiven. God gives you new life, when you believe in Jesus.
In the Bible, Saul (later referred to as Paul) is fascinating. He was a strict Jew and well educated. In the Bible, Acts 9 opens with Saul uttering murderous threats about killing all of the followers of Jesus. He had earned a reputation for arresting and persecuting Christians. Yet, this is the person that God calls, literally from the sky. God says, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” Saul asks “Who are you, lord?” And Jesus replies, I am Jesus and told him to go into the city and wait for instructions. As you continue to read, Saul converted from killing Christians to preaching about Jesus. If God used Saul for His good purpose, how much could God use you?
Saul’s Conversion
Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.
And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
—Acts 9:1-6 (NLT)
Have you ever heard the saying that you can move mountains when you pray? God gave us this beautiful gift of prayer. The enemy wants us to think prayer doesn’t work, because even Satan knows the power of prayer. The Bible has many instances of the power of prayer.
In Acts, a beloved lady named Tabitha died. Her lifeless body was surrounded by people mourning her. Peter came into her room and asked everyone to leave. Peter knelt and prayed. Then he told her to get up, and she came to life and got up. Prayer brought her back to life.
But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Get up, Tabitha.” And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up! He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he presented her to them alive.
The news spread through the whole town, and many believed in the Lord. And Peter stayed a long time in Joppa, living with Simon, a tanner of hides.
—Acts 9:40-43 (NLT)
Also in Acts, Cornelius is a devout man with a faithful family who gave generously to the poor. He prayed. An angel came to Cornelius saying his prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering.
Isn’t that amazing? God hears our prayers and sends angels to answer them.
Cornelius Calls for Peter
In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.
Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.
And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”
—Acts 10:1-6 (NLT)
God created all of us, each and every person on earth. You matter to God.
God accepts every person who fears Him and does what is right.
It is so comforting to me that God hears my prayers. I feel peace in my heart and a calm sense of joy that can only come from God, that thing that everyone is looking for to complete that missing part of their lives is Jesus.
You may say, ummm you know God has not answered your prayer right? Your husband is still looking for a job. Yes, I do know that my prayer is in the process of being answered. God is working on it, in His perfect timing. I have faith that it will be answered. In my life, 4 months is awhile, but it is only a flicker in God’s timeline. God has good plans for us. God has a good purpose for each of us. I have peace knowing that when God answers prayers, He answers the prayer and all the details that go along with it. Keep faithfully praying and believing in God’s perfect timing. Prayer is a gift from God.
Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
—Acts 10:34-38 (NLT)
