Answered Prayers

Note to YOU: Never forget how in love you are with Jesus. Hi 👋🏻 I have a confession to make: In July I have looked more like the world and less like the Word so it’s no surprise that the past several days, I have gone back and forth with doubt. Doubt in who Jesus is, why I believe in Him & His Word, why I put my faith in Him, why I have faith at all. Scary isn’t it? The scariest thought of all, was the why. I felt like such a failure for not being able to answer that question that kept haunting my thoughts.

1 Peter 3:15 NLT says, ““Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”

And you know what? I realized, I wasn’t.

So tonight, I finally just decided to go to Him in prayer, write it out, and truly soak it in. I began by thanking Him for the grace that allows me to repent and turn back to Him after I didn’t choose Him for a whole month, I asked Him to remind me of my why.

He answered this: because I’ve answered your prayers.

That was the reason I didn’t/don’t want to give, it’s so vague & for this creative, out-of-the-box thinker, it wasn’t good enough, so I continued to listen. He kept repeating: I’ve answered your prayers. So I began to reflect on specific prayers I’ve physically seen Him answer.

• On Beach Reach, a mission trip I took in March (pre-corona), I asked for just one text back. One connection that I could make on the trip with someone & talk to them about Jesus. The last night, at midnight breakfast, I gained that connection; I built that relationship; I made a friend, and we talked about Jesus. I shared my testimony with her over pancakes & she shared with me hers. The best part: we’ve talked about Jesus even more after we left Padre, and the Lord has changed her heart.

• At the beginning of the spring semester, I asked God to put someone in my path I could invite to Overflow (a college worship service). I was heading to government class & I went to sit by myself in the study hall to wait on class to start, when a voice spoke up and said “you could sit with me,” I looked over to see a girl I’d never met before & despite my instant spike in anxiety I sat down. The conversation began with makeup & ended with pouring out our hearts to one another, sharing our spiritual journeys and her saying, “I want to understand more about Jesus, we should hang out and talk about Him every Monday/Wednesday!” And I was just looking for a “yes” or “no” to my Overflow invitation. But the God of Wonders continued to answer my prayer beyond what I even knew I was praying for when my new friend’s bold self gained us another new friend in the middle of Starbucks. Every Thursday after that (until quarantine) we met at Starbucks, prayed, and talked about Jesus. We were able to pour into each other & it was one of the most beautiful answered prayers I’ve ever been blessed with.

But the answered prayer I found myself dwelling on tonight as I was worshipping to Sean Curran’s live at Passion songs *NOT A COINCIDENCE* was one that I didn’t even have, but someone else had that I still got to witness.

• Passion 2020 Day 2: The roof at Mercedes Benz was supposed to open during one of the messages being preached and the tech team could not get it to open, they prayed that it would open at exactly the right moment in the sermon, but it never did. Next Kari Jobe & Cody Carnes were on stage singing a song they’d just wrote together. So emotional, so powerful… and guess what?

The roof opened at what was by far the climax of the entire day & the Holy Spirit through the gushing wind filled the room with 65,000 of His children singing His praise. The closest to Heaven I will ever get until I see Jesus face to face.

Why was this an answered prayer for me? Because it was in that moment I truly fell in love with Jesus & I realized for the first time that to love Him is NOT A CHORE. And it has changed my life.

That’s my why: because He answered my prayers. I just had to be reminded of how.

Tonight’s cure for doubt: Repent. Count your blessings. Remind yourself of answered prayers. Because friends, our answered prayers are proof of who He is. Our answered prayers are proof that He is the only God who is the way, the truth, the life, the one who gives and takes away. The One who performs miracles & pours out blessing.

Way maker

Miracle worker

Promise keeper

Light in the darkness

THAT IS WHO HE IS.

I pray tonight that if you’re questioning your why, you look back at the miracles and blessings of your life that have come through an answered prayer because it is most likely there the He will remind you of your why.

Note to YOU: Never forget how in love you are with Jesus.

Why should my heart grow weary, don’t be so downcast O my soul

You are in every moment

You are my greatest miracle

XOXO, Jess 🙂