Part of God's Answer

One line in a Christian's job description might surprise you: We help answer prayers.

Of course, ultimately we don't answer prayer—God does. And yet, we can be the instruments God uses.

A carpenter drives the nail, but the hammer is his tool. A driver steers the car, but gasoline is the fuel that makes it go. A mother's hands prepare the food, but the oven provides the heat to cook it. Almighty God is the one who hears and answers prayer, but usually he includes human choices as part of his response.

Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Then immediately after giving these instructions, he continued, "Go! I am sending you out . . ." (Luke 10:2, 3). The disciples were part of the answer to their own prayer. If they dared to pray for workers to be sent, they'd better be willing to be the workers God would send. It's one thing to pray, "God, bless our missionaries." It's quite another to pray, "I'm willing to serve on a mission field" or "God, show me how I can support missionaries more generously."

It's good to pray for those in need and ask the Heavenly Father to bless the sick. But he might want to bless them by having us visit them in the hospital, send them a bouquet of flowers, or offer them words of comfort. A prayer that says, "God, help the poor," means a lot more if it leads us to put food on a hungry family's table, pay a widow's utility bill, or help a deserving young adult go to college. The apostle Paul appreciated his friends' partnership in prayer, but he was especially grateful because they put their prayers into action. He observed, "You sent me aid again and again when I was in need" (Philippians 4:16).

The military officer Cornelius was a God-fearing man, generous and prayerful. While Cornelius prayed at his home in Caesarea, miles away in the city of Joppa, Peter went up on his rooftop to pray. It must have been an interesting scene from Heaven's perspective as Cornelius and Peter—two prayer warriors who had never met each other—both prayed, unaware how God was at work. Cornelius needed someone to tell him about Christ. Peter needed a better understanding of God's love for all people. When the Holy Spirit orchestrated a divine appointment and these men finally got together, Peter turned out to be part of God's answer to Cornelius's prayer, and Cornelius proved to be part of God's spiritual development plan for Peter.

Amazingly, our actions can even be a factor in answering the prayers of Jesus himself. He prayed for his followers and said, "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me" (John 17:23). When we perpetuate unnecessary divisions in the church, we prevent the fulfillment of Jesus' request. But when we are one in the body of Christ, we help to fulfill the Lord's desire.

Prayer should be as natural as breathing for all who follow Christ, but the more we pray the more we become aware of a challenging question. Are we willing to be part of God's answer to another person's prayer?