FALL 2015 OC CHRISTIAN MAGAZINE Fall 2015 OC Christian Free magazine | Page 12

Family
Living

PRAYERS

Waiting for

God
to Show Up

By Greg
Laurie

S

ometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want him
to. We want him to rush and bring something to us quickly. But
God may have something different in mind. He may have some
lessons that he wants to teach us in the interim or may have
some changes he wants to bring about in our character. Or, he may have
some things we need to experience to grow up spiritually.
The objective of prayer is not getting
God to do what we want him to do.

Rather, it’s getting our will in alignment
with God’s will. God’s delays aren’t
necessarily his denials. The timing of God
is just as important as the will of God.

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That is what we discover from a tragic event in the life of
Mary and Martha. The story is recorded for us in John 11,
where Jesus did far more than they ever dreamed he would.
In fact, it’s one of the most dramatic miracles Jesus ever
performed.
As John 11 begins, Lazarus, the brother of Mary and
Martha, is sick. Mary and Martha send word to Jesus,
assuming that he will rush to Bethany and heal Lazarus.
They don’t tell Jesus what to do, but they are confident that
Jesus will do something. And Jesus did. He delayed his
arrival. Why? Because Jesus loved them. He wanted to do

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