Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

"I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.” - 1 Samuel 1:27-28

What have you been praying for lately?

The first reading for today gives hope to those who bring their requests to the Lord. We come to the Lord with our prayer requests, but we often come with a vision for how he "should" answer them. Have you found yourself on your knees in desperate prayer, as Hannah did when she prayed to our Lord to grant her request for a child? I found myself in desperate prayer for Hannah's exact request. As we struggled to build the family that WE had always imagined for ourselves, God was creating the family that HE envisioned for us. While my prayers were frequent, they were also narrow. After many, many years our prayers were answered, but not until I fully turned my request over to God and was truly open to God's vision for my life. The way in which God answered my prayers was through the blessing of adoption of a beautiful baby boy named Luke. While this is my personal journey my hope is that you see the similarities in your own life. God answers our prayers when we trust in him. I am reminded of the God's promise, For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Be open to the way in which God choses to answer our prayers. Through my experience I have learned that God's intention for my life is more beautiful than anything I could have envisioned. My prayer for you this Advent season is that your prayers will be answered more beautifully than you imagined.

What have you been praying for lately? What blessings will be revealed to you if only you are willing to be truly open to God's answer to your prayers?

Anonymous