When Answered Prayer Becomes Ordinary

When Answered Prayer Becomes Ordinary

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:18

About eighteen months ago, a man came to me after church carrying a burden that had become almost too heavy to bear.

His business was on the verge of bankruptcy. There were no jobs on the books that he could begin for weeks. He was facing the possibility of losing everything he had worked so hard to build. His home was at risk.

His finances were falling apart. Even his marriage was beginning to feel the strain.

He needed God to make a way where he could not see one.

So we prayed.

We prayed for provision. We prayed for his business. We prayed for his marriage. We prayed for God to open doors that seemed firmly shut.

Fast-forward eighteen months.

I saw that same man Sunday.

This time, his complaint was very different.

He was busy. Very busy.

In fact, he has more work ahead of him than he may even want.
And believe me, I understand what it means to be too busy. There are seasons when the phone keeps ringing, people keep needing you, the work keeps piling up, and you wonder how in the world you are going to get it all done.

A friend of mine once said when somebody asked if he was behind in his work: “I’m not behind. I just have a lot of work ahead of me.”

I have always liked that.

But as I listened Sunday, something crossed my mind.
Eighteen months earlier, we were praying for work.

Now there is so much work that it has become a burden.

Eighteen months earlier, he had been praying that the business would survive.

It survived.

He was praying that bankruptcy could be avoided.

It was.

He was worried about losing his home.

He still has it.

He was afraid of losing everything he had worked for.

God made a way.

His marriage was under tremendous strain.

God carried them through.

And standing there Sunday, I found myself wondering how quickly yesterday’s answered prayer can become today’s inconvenience.

I am not questioning this man’s heart. God knows his heart, and God knows mine. But as I reflected, I realized this pattern is common for many of us. But the Lord used that conversation to speak to me about my own tendency to forget answered prayers. Because I have done the same thing.

Maybe you have too.

We pray desperately for God to open a door, and then complain because we have to walk through it.

We pray for work, then complain because we are working.

We pray for children, then complain about the noise.

We pray for a home, then complain about the repairs.

We pray for a ministry opportunity, then complain about the demands.

We pray for people to come to church, then complain because the parking lot is full.

We pray for God to use us, then sometimes complain when serving Him interrupts our schedule.

That is how quickly blessings—and answered prayers—can become ordinary if we are not careful.

First Thessalonians 5:18 says: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Notice Paul does not say to give thanks only when everything is comfortable.

He says, “in all circumstances.”

Gratitude is not pretending that life is easy.

Gratitude is remembering who carried us when life was hard.

Sometimes we need to stop in the middle of what feels overwhelming and remember what we once prayed for.

That job wearing you out today may be the job you once begged God to provide.

That busy business schedule may be the answer to prayers prayed when bankruptcy seemed only weeks away.

That house needing maintenance may be the same house you once feared losing.

That marriage requiring patience and work may be the marriage you once pleaded with God to save.

That ministry assignment exhausting you may be the very opportunity you once asked God to give you.

There is nothing wrong with being tired.

There is nothing sinful about admitting that life has become busy.

But we should never become so busy carrying the blessing that we forget the One who gave it.

Sometimes we need to walk back mentally to the place where we prayed the desperate prayer.

Remember the fear.

Remember the uncertainty.

Remember the sleepless nights.

Remember wondering whether God was going to make a way.

Then look around.

You are still here.

God provided.

God sustained you.

God opened doors.

God carried you farther than you thought you could go.

Maybe everything didn't turn out exactly the way you expected, but the same God you cried out to in the valley didn't abandon you when you reached the other side.

And when God answers prayer, there ought to be a moment when we stop long enough to say: “Lord, thank You.”

Not because everything is perfect.

Not because the work is easy.

Not because there are no more problems.

But because we remember.

We remember where we were.

We remember what we prayed.

And we recognize how far God has brought us.

Before you complain about what is on your plate today, take a moment and ask yourself:

Did I once pray for some of this?

You might discover that what feels like a burden today is actually yesterday’s answered prayer.

Stay grateful by remembering how far you’ve come and how your prayers have been answered. Stay humble, recognizing that every blessing comes from God. And never become so accustomed to the blessing that you forget the One who blessed you.

The Lord be with you.

In His love

ray