Probably one of the easiest ways to express the goodness of God to another, to GIFT (Give It Forward Today), is to pray for another person to address any need that they may have. So many times I have prayed for someone to be healed and have seen an immediate miraculous answer to that prayer, whether it be simply debilitating neck pain or the same day discharge from an institution that they were destined to stay in for weeks or months. Whenever we see a healing, we are amazed and awestruck that the God of the universe hears the prayers of ordinary people.
There are times, however, that there aren’t instant answers to our prayers. At these times I think of Daniel. He fasted and prayed for 21 days. This was a serious approach to praying, but he didn’t receive an answer until, finally, the angel who was tasked with answering his prayer came and told him that there had been a problem.
Unbeknown to Daniel there had been opposition to the answering of his prayer for 21 days. As the angel explained, it wasn’t until a higher ranking angel came and dealt with that opposition in the spirit realm that Daniel could have his prayer answered. That account informs us that when we are praying for someone who needs our love and faith that we shouldn’t give up when we don’t get an immediate answer.
When we pray we become one with the Spirit of God who prays for us with “groanings that cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26). When we relinquish control of the outcome to the Spirit of God, then we often start to see breakthroughs in our prayers. If something is keeping you from seeing your prayer answered, whether it be sin or even your sickness, let it go and keep your hands and your heart open. Surrendering to God is the most difficult thing for a person to do but there are abundant blessings in doing so.
"All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time" (Psa. 104:27 NIV). If creation turns to God for their help, how much more should man be turning to God for all his requests, petitions and needs. So don’t hesitate to ‘GIFT’ – pray for someone in need and keep on praying. Keep on believing for an answer to that prayer. Give yourself totally to God and let Him take over the needs in our lives.