When You Get What You Prayed For
When God miraculously delivered the Israelites out of slavery and through the Red Sea, the people spent time dancing, singing, and praising God. Egypt’s army drowned in the same waters God used to save His people.
You would think with these miracles fresh on their mind, the Israelites would be full of faith, praising God every step through the wilderness.
This was not the case, as it only took three days to forget the miracle and begin to doubt, complain and turn against Moses.
“Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?'” (Exodus 15:22-24, ESV).
It’s easy to judge the Israelites and in our pride think, “Oh, I would never do that!” But the truth is, human nature tends to forget all the answered prayers and focus on the next issue.
Sometimes we see a miracle right in front of us and still walk in doubt and unbelief.
Recently we were in a tight spot financially and I started getting really stressed about it. I prayed the best I could but felt overwhelmed by our situation. I couldn’t see a way out.
The next day, the Lord provided above and beyond what we needed out of nowhere! I was filled with relief and joyfully praised God, thanking Him for his provision.
Not more then a few hours later I found myself allowing fear and stress in about our finances yet again!
Have you ever been in that situation? It’s easy to feel condemnation and guilt, but know His mercies are new every morning.
His desire is for us to always rejoice and praise Him, so that we won’t forget Him and fall into fear and doubt. God wants us to learn the importance of prayer.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Through His grace and focusing on Jesus, we can learn to live out of a place of thankfulness, rejoicing in the answered prayers and acknowledging Who answered them.
