You might be surprised by the subtle signs that God is hearing and answering your prayers.
Many people take time to pray to show their thanks throughout the day. You might express your gratitude by praying before a meal or at the end of a long day.
While those are excellent ways to thank the Lord and build a gratitude practice, you probably turn to a different type of prayer during challenging times. In these prayers, you ask God to help you or someone else. You might even pray that the entire world finds a path toward peace. Instead of showing gratitude, you're asking God to intervene in some way.
But how do you know when God answers your prayers? Often, there isn't an easy way to see signs God is answering your prayers. As Ecclesiastes 8:17 says:
"Nobody can understand what God does here on earth. No matter how hard people try to understand it, they cannot. Even if wise people say they understand, they cannot; no one can really understand it."
While it's true that God works in ways beyond our understanding, you can still look for these seven signs God is working in your life.
You Find Answers in the Bible
Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." This suggests that you can find God's guidance in the Bible. God has already given humanity the guidance each person needs to lead a happy, successful life. In fact, you'll probably find that the Bible already contains the answers you seek.
When you pray for guidance, you should also take time to read the Bible. When you find meaningful words that apply to your situation, you know that God is intervening in your life. You might even want to note the messages you find inspirational. That way, you can return to them when life feels hard, and you need God's support.
You Get Help From People in Your Life
There's an old story that gets told several different ways. Basically, it says that a man facing a terrible storm and flooding puts his faith in God, so he knows he'll survive the ordeal. After turning away several people who offer to help, he succumbs and dies in the flood. When he gets to Heaven, the man asks God why he didn't help. God shakes his head and says he sent several boats. How much more help could the man expect?
This story highlights the importance of accepting God's mercy regardless of how He sends it. If you have helpful people in your life, that could be one of the signs God is answering your prayers.
You Experience Peace
Individual people don't have much control over what happens in the world. Often, though, it seems like God steps aside to let humanity make its own decisions. Not surprisingly, we end up making decisions that hurt ourselves and the larger world.
God won't necessarily change the world to answer your prayer. That might rob humans of free will. Instead, He can answer your prayers by bringing you peace. Even when the world or your personal life seems out of control, God can answer your prayers by granting you internal peace.
As Philippians 4:7 says, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." If you feel peace after praying, understand it as God shouldering your burden and giving you time to recover.
You Find a Path Forward
Life's full of decisions, and you can't always know how one decision will change the direction your life takes. Humans aren't omniscient like God. We have limited knowledge, which makes it impossible for us to know how the future will unfold.
Thankfully, we can ask God for direction. When you pray for assistance, ask God to reveal the right path forward. He will not lead you astray, and He knows everything. Why wouldn't you ask an all-knowing, all-powerful God for help? After you do, follow your heart and do what feels right. That feeling is one of the signs God is working in your life.
You Feel More Resilient to Challenges
Everyone faces difficult trials in life. Maybe you recently lost a good-paying job, and now you have to work double shifts to make ends meet. Maybe your child has been acting out, causing you worry and grief. These are the kinds of tribulations normal people experience every day.
Praying for help might not yield the results you expect, though. Maybe you keep having to work two jobs, or your child continues acting out in school and at home.
Do those things mean God hasn't answered your prayers? Not at all. James 1:2-3 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
In other words, God is answering your prayers by helping you build a resilient spirit that will make you a stronger person.
Your Perspective Shifts
Many of the problems humans experience don't mean much in the grand scheme of God's plan. The most challenging moments of your life, of course, can feel overwhelming. That's only natural because people have such a limited view of existence.
Through prayer, though, you can shift your perspective to recognize that you're just one of countless souls passing through the earth. Yes, God loves you, specifically you, but He doesn't want to make the world about you specifically. Through repeated prayer, you can discover a shift that puts your hardships in perspective. One second, you're fretting over how you will pay this month's rent. Suddenly, you find yourself feeling grateful that you have a warm, safe place to live.
That shift is God helping you find perspective and recognize how much you have to be thankful for.
The World Changes Around You
In some cases, God answers prayers directly by making changes in the world. Numerous stories from the Bible show that God will intervene. For example, in Exodus 9:29, Moses says,
"When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord's."
Receiving this kind of answer, however, requires remarkable faith. Even the slightest doubt could mean that God chooses not to intervene directly. Still, He may send you answers in the other ways listed above.
Prayer is a powerful way to communicate with God. When you set aside time to pray, you're asking for God's assistance. If you know where to look, you'll find Him answering those prayers in unexpected ways.
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