Getting YOUR Prayers Answered!

Psalms 37:4 - Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.

Isaiah 43:26, 62:6 - Put Me in remembrance [remind Me of your merits]; let us plead and argue together. Set forth your case, that you may be justified (proved right)... you who [are His servants and by your prayers] put the Lord in remembrance [of His promises], keep not silence...

Isaiah 55:11 - So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 

As I sat this morning as I began my Quiet Time with the Lord, I just wanted to hear what was on "His" mind. I don't do this all the time.... but have you ever thought, "Lord, what are you thinking this morning? What's going on with you?" :) Not like He doesn't have the WHOLE world praying to Him... and it's "awake-time" somewhere in the world all the time! Well... this morning was one of those mornings where I was curious. :)

In the still, quiet moments, sitting on my couch with my coffee, Pandora worship music streaming from our 'smart TV' in the background... I just sat & listened.

... I am here to accomplish My Word! ... Most do not pray My Word so these promises are not working for them.  

I took a few moments and decided to look up the word petition. Petition. According to the dictionary, it calls petition a formally drawn request , a request made for something desired, especially a respectful or humble request, as to a superior or one in authority. Petitions are most often known for being made in a court of law. A formal, drawn up petition/request. If you take a moment to think about a "petition" in a court of law, if you are like me, you would maybe think of something like this: 

• Something that has been researched & drawn up.
• Something bulleted or numbered off so that I can prove my point accurately and thoroughly. 
• Something that I can include examples or stories with in order to further bring home my point. 

If I were petitioning for something in a court of law, I would MOST DEFINITELY have my ducks in a row so that the judge would see that I am serious. If I really wanted to win, I would walk in there with my stuff together, if you know what I mean, right? Wouldn't you? 

So, why don't we do the same thing with God...when it comes to our life? Our dreams? Our goals? The desires of our hearts? 

Isaiah 55:11 reminds us to put GOD in remembrance of HIS Word! To remind Him WHAT He has said, WHAT His promises are in His Word. He said Himself that the Word was put in place to ACCOMPLISH that which it was made to accomplish. So, with your dreams & goals, your wants & desires.... DO SOME HOMEWORK! 

If you were going to PETITION in a Court of Law, you wouldn't walk in there with NOTHING! Right?! You would have your stuff together, you would probably be in your nicest, most professional business suit. You would have your legal pad. You would have your evidence. You would have the facts. You would have it all! And, it should be the same when you come to God in prayer to petition a request. God has placed His Word here for us to USE IT to get what we want. Let me give you a few examples. 

Tyler & I, for our last two vehicles were believing God for them. Our first one was in 2009, we had believed for a Nissan Murano, and the 2nd one was earlier this year, we were believing for a Honda Odyssey. We found exactly what we wanted, we SOWED a financial seed for them, and we DAILY thanked God for them. We also put God in REMEMBRANCE of His Word. 

"Thank you Lord that according to Deuteronomy 6:11, you tell us we are to RIDE PROSPEROUSLY. We thank you Lord for our Honda Odyssey. We thank you for our swagger wagon, leather seats, a built in DVD player & Navigation would be really nice, but I could do without it."

Well... guess what we got? God outdid Himself! We got BETTER than what we were believing for! We got a 2012 Honda Odyssey Touring ELITE. Fully loaded. Heated seats. Tinted windows all the way around. A 16 INCH DVD player. 8 passenger. A built in COOL BOX to keep drinks cold. Several other extras ...and it DID have Navigation! :) I waffled on what color I wanted.... and was not specific on that. I kinda wanted dark grey, but never got real specific. We got a white one that Tyler drove right off the show room floor! :) Which... I never knew this, but driving a vehicle off the show room floor was always a secret petition he had. 

But the point.... we did our homework. We test drove it. We got pictures of it. We sowed financial seed for it. We found scripture, GOD'S WORD, to back up what we were believing for... then we put GOD in remembrance of HIS Word. And do you know what, His Word works every time! If you don't believe me, check out what HE says about it!! "My word (THE BIBLE/SCRIPTURE) be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Do your homework. Send forth God's Word. Make your petition known to God, but have your homework to back it. Have "proof for your case." Pictures, Scripture, Seed sown towards your dream, goal or need. Present it to God and then STAND YOUR GROUND! Continue to THANK HIM for the desired result you are waiting on. You get serious about your dreams and goals, and God will help them come to pass! :) 

And friend.... Do not grow weary in well doing, because in due season you WILL reap if you faint not. Stand your ground until your petition comes to pass. We have proof sitting in our driveway. It does work.... and if it worked for us, it will work for you!