Big Idea: Praise God for partial blessings.
Do you ever prayerfully ask God for something and hope He only answers half of your prayer?
No?
Me neither! We want God to answer 100% of our prayers 100% of the time. When He doesn’t give us what we hope for, we don’t throw a party or post on social media about how happy we are that we didn’t get what we wanted, right?
Mark Batterson, one of my favorite pastors and authors says,
“What we don’t turn into praise, turns into pride. Instead of holding onto disappointment when God doesn’t give you what you ask for, why not praise God every step of the way?”
This idea always challenges me, and I want to share a story that’ll hopefully encourage you today.
Recently, I found out that a devotional I submitted to a major publication got rejected. I worked hours on this piece researching, editing, overthinking, and editing some more. I prayed that my piece would be chosen, then hit submit.
After about two months, I received an email letting me know my piece made it into the final rounds and that they’d be choosing winners within the next month.
Yes!
But just last week, I got the big no-go. Disappointment covered me like a weighted blanket as I read the candy-coated rejection email.
Ugh. I spent so much time on that for nothing.
However, God quickly reminded me of Mark Batterson’s words.
Just because God doesn’t give us the entire blessing doesn’t mean we can’t praise him for each portion.
My devotional didn’t get picked, but I learned how to study the Bible better. I found new resources I’ve never used before while researching. I can still share the devotional with friends like you.
If you’re like me, I bet you haven’t gotten all of what you prayed when you prayed for it at some point as well.
Let’s challenge ourselves to sit in our moment of disappointment, then move forward and praise God for the blessings we gained along the way.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, even the path toward “no” and “not now” answers to our prayers.
Look for goodness in what God has given you today, and praise Him for partial blessings!
Reflect:
1. Think about a time when the initial answer to your prayer was “no” or “not now.” What good came out of that season? If you’re in the middle of a trying season, ask God to reveal His blessings to you so that you can clearly see Him at work.
2. Try writing out and memorizing Colossians 4:2 (NIV) this week: "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."
Comments