“I will bow down…and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word according to Your name. On the day I called, You did answer me; You made me bold with strength in my soul” (Psalm 138:2-3).
Don’t we all love it when we get answers to our prayers? Sometimes we pray for weeks, months, even years before we see what looks like answers. Other times we get answers, but they aren’t what we want, so we figure we haven’t received one. Yet, God answers prayer.
I recently finished leading a group of women through The Language of Hope, Finding the Way Through as a weekly Bible study. When I was asked to do this study months ago, I started praying: for the women God wanted to join me, for their open hearts to receive what God would teach us, for a good experience together, and for the strength, patience, wisdom, and love to handle this commitment.
And God supplied. I saw Him work His wonders by bonding us, challenging us, molding us, revealing His truth, and bringing us back week after week to look into what it means to walk into hope, no matter what our current circumstances are.
We learned that worship is more than singing praise songs on a Sunday. It’s living out truth in difficult places. It’s telling God our secrets and trusting He’ll accept us. It’s sharing answers to our prayers with sisters who need encouragement for their desires. The Psalmist reinforces this idea when he says, “And they will sing of the ways of the Lord; for great is the glory of the Lord. For though the Lord is exalted, yet He regards the lowly; but the haughty He knows from afar” (v. 5-6).
Our calling, which is uniquely ours, would be troublesome, frustrating, and easy to abandon if not for God’s character and His supply. Each day, as this calling unfolds, His presence goes with us. His Spirit points the way and, oftentimes, shows us the significance of what we’re engaged in. For this assignment with the women God brought, I knew haughtiness wouldn’t get suffice. Humility and dependence would serve me, as I prayed for each of them and their specific needs, whether expressed or merely implied. His Spirit told me how and made me care.
The Psalmist, in this case David, counted on prayer. His words reflect an assurance before His Lord that God cares when his life’s calling made him vulnerable. Listen to what he says: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me. Thou wilt stretch out Thy hand against the wrath of my enemies. And Thy right hand will save me” (v. 7). Much of his life he knew what it was to have enemies. But he also knew God could take care of him when surrounded.
My group of women faced enemies also: doubts, despair, demands, bitterness, faithlessness, and a host of others. Our common enemy dogged our steps as we strove to reach new levels of belief. And I got a front row seat to see the enemy of our souls defeated week after week. Hope was real. We would find our way because God knew our names and had a plan. We see it when relationships are strengthened, rebellious children humbled, job opportunities come our way, health is restored, hard hearts and mental mindsets become pliable, co-workers cease from tormenting, and especially, when we can wait in peace before these evidences present themselves, trusting in our Lord’s mercy and love toward us.
David’s continued belief is reassuring, because he lived with what we experience: fear, betrayal, defeat, personal failure, disillusionment. The Scriptures make his struggles transparent to us. He knows God answers prayer. “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me. Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting. Do not forsake the works of Thy hands” (v. 8).
My time with this women’s group is at an end, for now, but the impact we’ve made on one another is lasting. I will continue to think of them and pray for each one, as God fulfills His calling in them. None of us is the same since we’ve seen the work of His hand among us. Glory to His name.
Strengthen Our Souls
Lord of the humble, the trusting ones who lift their hearts to You, hear our prayers. And when answers come, let us give thanks to Your name, because we count on the works of Your hands. Lead us in Your truth, especially when the enemy is in our midst. Strengthen and support our desires to keep believing. And let us sing of Your ways to one another, as You revive our hearts and send encouragement our way. King David said, “All the kings of the earth will give thanks to Thee…” one day. Let us live out our calling so that those we meet will give thanks to You. Show us (all) the way, everlasting. Amen.
Say the Name
Say the name of Jesus,
Say the name of Jesus,
Say the name so precious,
No other name I know—
That calms our fears and dries our tears,
And wipes away our pain.
When you don’t know what else to pray,
When you can’t find the words to say,
Say the name.