Did you change the prayer, God?

“Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:5-10)

If you keep knocking long enough. Those are telling words - words that might just reveal how much faith we have and how tenacious we can be with our faith. God's plan of prayer isn't just to 'get to know each other', but that is where it starts. As we come to know him better, we might just find ourselves knocking rather 'tenaciously' on his door about some things that need to be different in our lives or the lives of others. Does he get offended when we keep on 'knocking'? Absolutely not. We may not understand the delay, but we keep on knocking. If God shows us that there is something he wants to work on within us FIRST, then we don't give up on the knocking - we just allow him to work on that area within us while we still knock!

He isn't too busy. He isn't unconcerned. The 'delay' as we see it isn't resistance to our request - it may have a totally different purpose. Don't be ashamed to ask and keep on asking. But...don't be closed off to hearing what he may be telling you while you await the door to open. It could be that we are knocking on the door while harboring some form of resentment in our heart, and he asks us to let the other person off the hook, so to speak. He asks us to forgive them, let go of the offense, and maybe even pray for THEM as much as we have been praying for ourselves! When God doesn't answer immediately, we might do well to ask God if there is a reason for the delay. If the timing isn't right, he will show us. If the heart isn't right, he will reveal that. 

One more thing - don't be 'weak' in your requests. Don't just 'dink around' in prayer. Be direct. Be honest. Be truthful about what you need. Be determined. In other words, don't give up when you don't hear from God immediately, or see the door opened exactly in the timing we want it opened, the need being met almost instantaneously. Get in there, lay it all out, and keep on laying it all out until God shows you otherwise. If he changes your heart in the process, he may well change the prayer you have been praying, as well! Just sayin!