Submitted by
David Miller
Now when He had
taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell
down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8
Have you ever
prayed for something that seemed to take a long time for God to answer? Or,
have you ever prayed for something, and the answer came so quickly that it
almost scared you? Sometimes we don't believe our prayers can be answered so
quickly.
In chapter 12 of
the book of Acts, James the apostle had been beheaded, and Peter had been
arrested by Herod. Then we read that "constant
prayer was offered to God for [Peter] by the church" (Acts 12: 5). God
immediately answered that prayer, sent an angel into the prison, and the doors
literally opened for Peter to walk out of jail.
Then Peter went to
the house where the church was presumably praying for his deliverance. Peter
knocked at the door, a girl named Rhoda answered, and seeing it was the answer
to their prayers, she went back to the men of God to tell them that Peter was
at the door. I can visualize how the
conversation must of went:
"Guys . .
."
"Quiet. We're
praying. 'Lord, deliver Peter. . . .' "
"Hey,
guys?"
"Don't bother
us. We're praying for Peter!"
"Guys!"
"What?"
"Peter is
outside! He's standing at the door."
These great men of
faith didn't believe God could answer their prayer. But eventually they let
Peter in. Poor Peter. God could get him
out of prison, but Peter couldn't get himself into a prayer meeting.
God hears and
stores our prayers. Revelation 5 talks about a bowl of prayers in Heaven: "Now when He had taken the scroll, the four
living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each
having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the
saints" (verse 8).
No prayer is
wasted. Each one is duly noted by God.
He is much wiser than us and will answer our prayers in the right way,
His way, and in the right time.
You see, God’s answers to our prayers are never
early. They are never late. But they will always be right on time. 