You Need to Get Out of the Way to Get an Answer

Do we always get what we pray for when we pray for it?  After you pray do you then try to make things happen the way you think they should go?  Do you worry about why meeting your goals is taking so long? What is more important - your goals or God's plan?   

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; 

and lean not unto thine own understanding. 

In all thy ways acknowledge him, 

and he shall direct thy paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6

Sometimes you have to get out of the way before you can get an answer to your prayer.  The answer may be yes, not now so please wait, or flat out NO.  God know what is best for you,  He has a plan for you.  What you are doing might be in God's will, or it might not.  That is why each request of God must conclude with "your will be done" so you do not get in the way of His plan.  If you get in the way, all you are doing is wearing yourself out working too hard and you may begin to pull away from God.

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything 

according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask,

we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." -  1 John 5:14-15

As a personal example: when I began writing my first book, I  asked God to bless my time spent on the book by letting others learn and use what was in it.  I felt His assurance that my writing would be read.  I did major marketing, sold copies of my business book(s), used them in my training seminars, and gave away some as well.  Then to extend marketing of my books and my consulting, I started a business blog.  Just as my business and speaking engagements were doing really well, my dad died and I had to stop to take care of his estate and my mom.  However, I kept writing  books, poems, and blog posts as I had time while praying for direction with each.  Surprise, I am not YET a best-selling author!  In prayer, I asked God why He was not blessing my books with fast multiple sales, this time the message was more clear - the right people were reading and learning from my writing at the right time for them.  So you see, I was trying to make things happen as I thought God wanted and was not really listening to His plan.  Although most of my blog posts reach thousands,  I now realize whatever I may write is blessed and the messages are getting where they need to go.  It does not matter whether it is for one person, hundreds, thousands, a million, or more.  All that matters is my obedience to His will and my willingness to write.  Praise God, He finally made me understand that.