GOD, what have YOU done?

Prayer is a delightful gift – an intimate interaction with God. I convincingly believe that it is God’s love language – I’ll share a fun fact truth about this later. For now, and to get us started, here’s a simple yet truthful definition of prayer:

In line withMatthew 18:18, this definition indicates that something must first have been done for there to be an echo of it or for there to be something to echo.

My aim in sharing this blog is (1) to emphasize the truth expressed inMatthew 18:18by highlighting the efficacy of the asking that precedes praying, and (2) to encourage you to partake in the peaceful joy that it brings. While praying often involves asking, there is an asking that precedes praying – it lies in the question: God, what have You done? I believe that the God-given answer to this ask results in the effectual prayer that avails much – as much as the knowledge and glory of God filling the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Let’s pick things up from the beginning, or better yet, the end (SeLaH).

At the end of the six days of creation, the period during which the foundation of the world was laid, the bible records that heaven, earth, and all their respective hosts (inhabitants) were created – each one of us was created(Genesis 1:27)and every detail of our lives was designed in perfect faithfulness, righteousness, and peacefulness (completeness). Everything was completed down to the last detail.

After ALL said, written, and done, God rested from ALL His work on the seventh day(Genesis 2:1-3) – in other words, by day seven, NOTHING was left undone.

In the early days of elementary school, we are taught about tenses: past tense, present tense, future tense, and a slew of variants. When God speaks, I find that He does it in thePresent Past Futuretense (aka theFaithtense). In our present timeline, God shows and/or tells us about a past (completed) future.

Another way to translate God’s “I will do _______“ is God saying: “I will do _______ BECAUSE I have done _______“. Think of it asthe doing of what’s already done – this is the Righteousness of God … it is God’s way of working.

God’s way of WORKING? Isn’t He RESTING from all His work? Yes and Yes – God is both resting and working. Hence, the doing of what’s already done – herein lies the mystery of God’s righteousness (the mystery of how He works). Jesus is the chief and primary proof of this: He did ONLY what He saw the Father do had done.

There is significance to seeing what God has done – I believe thatto see it is to have it. No wonder God was particular about showing Moses the promised land. We see God do the same with Abraham in relation to the promised land –Genesis 13:14-17– God said to Abraham: “as far as you can see I give to you and your descendants as a permanent possession” V15 (NLT). In the same show and tell fashion, God told Abraham He would give him as many descendants as the uncountable stars in the sky(Genesis 15:5). Seeing what God has done isan invaluable vantage point: the best point of view as far as prayer points go.

InIsaiah 51:1-2, God encourages us to consider Jesus – the ROCK from which we were hewn, and to also consider Abraham. Both of whom navigated their lives based on what God showed/told them that He had done. With this in mind, it’s no coincidence that Abraham is known as our faith father. It is also no coincidence that Jesus is FAITH – He is the Word of God – the evidence of what God has done. Jesus is simultaneously the Present, Past, Future –Hebrews 13:8– He is our Present Past (completed) Future. He is the FULLNESS of FAITH – He is FAITH’s FULLNESS. He is FAITHFULNESS. It is out of this FAITHFULNESS that God wants us to also see and speak, especially when we pray.

In order to speak out of Faith’s fullness, we need to first have Faith – we need to first have the Word of God that did what God has already done. In order to echo what God has already done regarding a particular need/desire, in order to speak out of the fullness of what God has done, we need to first know what God has done. In order to intervene with truth, we need to first know the truth. We have what we know in that what we know is ours to do with as we see fit. We have WHEN we ask –James 4:2C. I reiterate all this to encourage us toask before praying… to seek to know what God has done regarding our need/desire before we pray –this way, our prayers are in alignment with God’s will(they are in alignment with what He has already done) – 1 John 5:14.

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Whatever the need or desire is: healing, help for a loved one, freedom from an addiction, the things by which the soul is nourished (Revelation 22:17 AMPC), with the understanding that there’s nothing left undone, consider always prefacing your prayer with the question: God, what have You done about this? In other words, God, what have You said about this? What have You prepared and kept ready for this?

In asking God these questions, we are essentially asking Him to give us the evidence of what we hope for: Faith (Hebrews 11:1)– this is the means through which all that God has done (Righteousness) and has given us (Peace, Rest) gets transferred to us from heaven (God’s Heart) to earth (our lives here on earth) –this way, our joy becomes FULL–John 16:24

Given our perceived “need for speed” especially when we really desperately desire something, we are naturally more inclined to shoot our shot first by asking for what we want/need than we are to first ask (seek) to know what God has already said and done about our want/need. The latter requires waiting on God and might sometimes seem/feel like a looooooooooong wait … it’s amazing how an hour (or less in my case) can feel like forever🙂. Peter, James, and John can attest that the wait is unnatural and that it can be a struggle –Matthew 26:40

To the natural mind, the wait or the ‘watch’ part of ‘watch and pray‘ can feel unpleasant … and maybe even frustrating: wanting to pray about something pressing yet having to wait/watch so as to see what God will show and/or tell you, so that you then know what to pray/echo. This goes against the “go, do, now, fast” human orientation and natural response. Nevertheless, with the help of the HolySpirit, I’m learning to not despise the wait BECAUSE (1) it glorifies God, and (2) it is a vital part of loving God!

Through this Knowledge of God (Truth), I’m learning that prayer is less about telling God what I want or need – He already knows (Matthew 6:8B, 32B). It is less about my desires being met – they’ve ALL been met, God fulfilled every last one of them in perfect faithfulness (exactly and according to what He said).

The joyful alignment that ensues when we ask and then pray is more than an agreement. In it lies the privilege, honor, and gift of intimacy with God. It makes for an intimate experience – one as intimate as a kiss in which we first receive God and then give God. What a KISS!

Having asked, believed (accepted as true) and thus received what God shows and/or tells us, we can then truthfully, faithfully, and righteously echo what God has done about the related need or desire. THE RESULT? A two-in-one, dare I say, resounding echo:(1)your answered prayer (heaven on earth) and(2)God’s answered prayer (heaven on earth) – you being a prayer, you being a living echo and evidence of what God has said and done. Inevitably, and on both accounts,heaven comes to earth!

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