How to Respond When They Do

Have you ever received an email and the news was so good that you had to read it multiple times?

That happened when the invitation to come on the Unashamed Podcast showed up in my inbox. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and interview Al Robertson a few times and vividly remember telling my wife that going on their show would be a dream come true. In fact there were prayers sent to God directly for that to happen.

As an admirer of their work, the chance to sit with Al and Phil, to read and discuss God’s Word was a dream yet it never seemed in reach. Until the email arrived asking if a given date for recording would work for our schedule. I asked my wife to come into the studio and stood by anxiously while she read the note and her next words were “I guess you’re going to Louisiana”. Just when we thought it couldn’t get better Al called and wanted to see if arriving early was possible to meet the entire family and basically spend a day recording with them in the studio.

It was an experience that will last with me forever and it showed me an area of my life that needed attention - praise. As a driven individual I often found myself moving from item to item and doing so there was almost zero time purposely focused on praising God for how He was moving in my life. It was literally a standard operating procedure to get what I want and move to the next thing on the list. This blessing was too big to ignore and it caused me to intentionally slow down and praise Him like never before.

That led to other thinking that is worth exploring, should God only be praised when He comes through with the monumental things in life or more plainly said, when He does what I want Him to do. While that sounds harsh, it does ring true doesn’t it. I send up flare prayers all the time with requests on what is needed for a given situation and yet everyday He continually comes through time and time again without focused intentionality of gratitude on my behalf. The problem I’ve experienced is that sending up flare praise is not as natural a response and is something that takes focused effort.

Throughout my discipleship journey, I’ve learned that by remembering to thank Him for the seemingly small things, it is easier to see His hand in everything. It is incredibly easy to forget to offer Him praise when we’re on the mountain top as our tendency is to look down from that purview. However, keeping a mindset of continual praise is a great way to honor and glorify Him at all times - especially when our expectations and His align beautifully.

Questions to Consider

1. What small blessings have you overlooked in daily life?
2. How do you respond when God answers your prayers?