Seven Things I Learned about Prayer in 2017 (Part 2)

#2 God Answers Prayers Through Patterns

“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory” (Psalm 73).

jerusalem4_2111922b

“The Host has invited you to Israel and he has a message for you there.” A friend of mine gave me that prophetic word a month before I traveled to the Holy Land in 2014, so I prayed I wouldn’t miss it. As it turned out, It would have been difficult to overlook. The divine communiqué was consistently in front of my eyes and ears, resulting in this message: “Your Jewish father died, but your Jewish roots did not die.” I asked, “What am I supposed to do with this?”

God didn’t answer for a year, but I was constantly praying for His direction. So in order to make a point about patterns, here’s the pattern that occurred in my life:

  1. Prophetic Word about Israel–November, 2014
  2. Message in Israel about my Jewish roots–December, 2014
  3. Moved us out of our longtime church congregation–January 2016
  4. Directed us to a church that has a Messianic Service and a Jewish roots class- March 2016
  5. Prayed about where God wanted me to serve at our new church.
  6. Felt called to lead a prayer team for our Jewish roots class- 2017
  7. Asked to lead intercessory prayer for Jewish ministries-2017

pattern 2

Do you see the pattern? None of this happened immediately, but it started with a word from God and a desire, and also with consistent prayer for God’s clear direction.

Oftentimes, God answers prayers in bite-sized chunks. He knows we cannot handle too much change at once. Like a good movie that keeps us on the edge of our seat, we remain connected to him when we are hanging on his every word. Our heavenly Father doesn’t always give us the complete picture. Otherwise, it would be like giving a child everything they ever wanted in one day so they don’t ever need to ask for anything again.

woman praying

Prayer is a way to stay connected with God and oftentimes he responds to our prayers through patterns.

Hansel and Gretel

It reminds me of the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel. In order to find their way home, Hansel left bread crumbs on the path. Those crumbs were eaten by hungry birds but in the case of prayer, we are the hungry birds. And we must make a mental note of the bread crumbs God leaves us. Pay attention to the patterns that occur, because they will ultimately lead to our answer for clear direction.

What patterns are happening in your life right now?

creative writing

Write them down. It will be interesting for you to go back and see how the Lord directed your journey, one step at a time.

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