In Touch Devotional 13th January 2025, By Charles Stanley, Monday Message
TOPIC: Learning to Pray God’s Way
God has promised to answer His children’s prayers, but He often waits before responding. He does so for many reasons:
- Preparation. Sometimes God has to make us ready for what He wants to give us. We may have attitudes or behaviors that aren’t aligned with His will (James 4:3).
- Spiritual growth. The Lord may use delays to test our faith or deepen our relationship with Him.
- Timing. God’s timetable often doesn’t match ours. He knows what He wants to accomplish in and through us.
God includes delays as part of the believer’s prayer life. In certain situations, we—like the persevering widow in Luke 18:1-8—have to keep knocking before the Lord gives us His answer.
Jesus calls us to a lifestyle of “asking, seeking, and knocking”—a lifestyle of trust in the Father’s promise to answer His children.
Bible in One Year: Genesis 42-45
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: God may include delays as part of His perfect answer to our prayers.
Dr. Charles F. Stanley was the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. Throughout his ministry, he demonstrated a keen awareness of people’s needs and provided Christ-centered biblically based principles for everyday life.