Daily devotional, Jan 22, 2023 Fill in the Blanks
"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."
1 John 5:14
One of the most difficult types of exam in any student test questionnaire is “fill in the blanks.” It requires a definite answer. An answer that you will only know if you have really studied the lesson and reviewed.
Unlike true or false or multiple choice, there is no percentage that you would get the answer correctly even if you really do not know it. There is no luck involved in passing this type of test if you did not review your lessons or at least tried to memorize study concepts.
When we pray to the Lord, we take the position of the examiner. We post requests for answers to prayers and questions that we have in our hearts. For His part, he has the option to answer it or leave it blank. When He leaves it blank, He can either fill in answers at a later time, or not answer the question at all.
When He does not answer it, maybe we framed our question incorrectly. Maybe it is the wrong prayer to ask for. What is important is that we know that even that blank space is an answer.
"What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:11-13
But how do we know the answers to our questions? Simple, we seek God. We seek God through sincere prayer. We spend time with Him, and try to understand His will for us. We will only know all of these if we know His truth, His will and His promises, and there are no shortcuts to that. We have to spend quiet time with Him, we have to intentionally allot time to study His word both by ourselves and with others, and worship Him.
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8
When we live our faith and nourish a personal relationship with the Lord we can both discern and accept His possible answers to our prayers. He can say “yes,” when what we are asking for is according to His will and good plan for our lives.
God can also leave our prayers unanswered and tell us to wait. When He asks us to do that, it means we are not yet ready to receive the blessing we are asking for. When He asks us to wait though, it does not mean we will have to be idle, we can do what we can with our means, and continue to pray that our will could align with His.
Our Heavenly Father can also say ‘no’ to our prayers. For instance, He said ‘no’ to Moses when Moses appealed God’s decision for him to not enter the Promise Land because of his disobedience.
"Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again." Deuteronomy 3:25-26
From Moses’ story we learn that when we disobey, our prayers will not be answered. So when we have done something wrong, like Moses we should accept our mistakes and repent.
"For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
1 Peter 3:12
And while disobedience was the reason for Moses to not enter the Promise Land, we also now know that God’s “no” to Moses is also part of His good plan. Likewise, even if he did not get a “yes” to enter Canaan, we all learned that Moses got to enter heaven, as recorded in the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration.
"And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him." Matthew 17:1-3
So like Moses, let us pray to have the grace to accept the reality of an unanswered prayer. When Moses was told that Joshua will bring the Israelites to the Promise Land, he did not see Joshua as a rival, instead he gave him his full support. If this happened in the current day, not every ‘leader’ will be supportive of his replacement. He may even go into depression due to resentment and cease looking out for the welfare of others. But Moses was different, he handled the situation with grace and encouraged Joshua to be the best leader he can be.
"Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, 'Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.'” Deuteronomy 31:7-8
By taking to heart that our Sovereign King will not leave us empty, we will realize that when He says “no” to us, He will lead us to the right path. He will help us endure by providing us strength. He will guide us on what to do. And if we will surrender to His will, and abide by Him, we will get to live and enjoy the best life He has for us.
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Deuteronomy 3:21-29 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Do you have prayers waiting to be answered? Can you still recall the “no’s” that God has given you? Looking back, what are the blessings you received because of these “no’s?”
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, give me the grace to accept your answers to my prayers. That I will have the confidence to bring both big and small matters before Your feet, and surrender to Your will. I love you Lord, and I know that you love me so much that you have only the best laid plans for me. Amen.