Careful for what you pray

Be careful what you pray for (or wish for), because you just might get it! We have all heard this quote at one time or another and after hearing it so many times one might become scared to pray for what they desire most.  It is a very discouraging comment to make to someone and can possibly keep people from asking for anything.  

The Bible says ask and ye shall receive.  If you ask God for something that is in His will and will bring glory to Him, and you have faith that He will answer, I truly believe you will receive what you ask for.  It is Bible.

However, sometimes when we ask for something, other things come with it, which may leave us ill prepared for what we receive.  Let me give you some examples of what I am talking about...

EXAMPLE 1:  I prayed and prayed for Bill (my husband) to come to church.  I asked God to just pick him up by the shirt collar and put him in the pew on Sunday Mornings.  I truly believed that God would do this and he did, only not how I intended or planned for it to happen.  A life altering event happened to Bill which affected the whole family.  Months of not knowing what the outcome would be, or what kind of long term effects our family would have put a strain on our tight  family unit.  However, keeping the faith and putting all trust in God and surrendering our Will to His the outcome was even better than what I could have ever imagined.

EXAMPLE 2:  I prayed for children to come from all areas and all backgrounds regardless of economic status, race, nationality, etc to our kid program and allow us to  teach about Jesus and to provide a place for them once a week for an hour and a half where they were safe, fed both physically and spiritually and loved unconditionally.  Our average attendance was 10 however, after prayer our next meeting housed 30 kids not including adults.  After altering the program to accommodate such large numbers and our leaders being flexible to the cause, the night was a huge success and we have experienced growth ever since.

We will never be able to erase this phrase "Be careful what you pray for" from our tongues, but I do think we can alter it to be more accurate.  I say we practice this quote,  "Be PREPARED for what you pray for."  Pray with anticipation and faith that what you ask will be given unto you.  Pray that God gives you courage, strength and wisdom to handle the trials that come with it.  In the end everyone is a winner.

So pray and pray hard and always be prepared for the answer you receive.