Three Reasons Why We Can Rest in Prayer

What does it mean to rest in prayer? 

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” I JOHN 5:13-15 (ESV)

When we rest, we are fully trusting something to be safe. We can rest in our homes because we feel safe there. We can rest next to our husbands because we trust them. We can rest in God’s care because we know He loves us.

Confidence. Confidence means to fully trust. To have complete faith and belief that something will happen or someone will come through. When our prayers move from our sprit, to our brain, to our mouths and into the air, do we feel the emptiness surround our hearts? Do we think maybe the prayers are not even being heard?

I’ve prayed for people, for circumstances, and for deep hurts for weeks, months, and even years. Only to never see the answer I wanted. Even when the answer is something I know is good, right, and what I would think is “best” – God doesn’t seem to move. Or if He is, I can’t see it. Pain remains in loved ones. Hurts are never healed because of death. My daughter still suffers from her movement disorder and is mute. Loved ones are still unsaved. Cancer is winning in a mother’s body.

When John wrote his letter to the church he was an old man. A man stranded on an island, living out a life sentence with no hope of rescue. Did he pray for his loneliness? Did he pray for a salvation from the prison? If he did, God didn’t answer the way we would call a “yes.” So how could he say: “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything cording to his will he hears us.”? He wrote it because he chose to believe it.

The truth was, God was listening. It was a fact, not a “I hope this is true….” Confidence is not hope, or even faith. Confidence is a steady belief something to be 100% true. God is 100% true. The Word of God is 100% true. The confidence comes in the pages of scripture. Lean into the prayers you lift to the Father. Beg and plead and ask, but have confidence – not that God will give you everything on your wish list. Have confidence in the One listening. Have full trust He is working, behind the scenes, and will never ever forsake you.

So I can rest (and let go of worry) in my prayers because….

1. God has promised eternal life. Heaven is not a dream, but a fact. Heaven is the reason we can rest in our prayers. In the end, God wins. Eternal life is waiting, no matter the pain and hardship here.

2. Jesus’ name is enough.  When we know Jesus, we know the truth and can abide in His love. Jesus promises to be close and when we pray, we know He is our advocate to the Father. His blood is the reason we can pray at all.

3. God is hearing us. The promise of someone listening is powerful. Whatever we bring to God in prayer, He is listening. If it is anger, confusion, and sadness, He is listening. If it is praise, blessing, sweet love, He is listening.

Here are some pocket truths to keep near your prayer journal. To remind you that God is listening, rest in prayer. I’m guilty of praying to God, and then placing the burden back on my shoulders to “make it happen.” I can leave my requests at the throne of grace and know He is handling it.

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But truly God has listened….#godislistening #psalm

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But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Psalm 66:19

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