Ever been thinking about someone, when suddenly your phone rings and it’s them? Or it starts to ring unexpectedly, and somehow you just know who it is before you even look at the caller ID? Well, that’s kind of like the prayer relationship we have with God (although we don’t always realise it). Imagine God sitting there, already thinking about you, when you call on Him to spend some time together. Or you find yourself in an emergency situation and you throw an in-the-moment prayer request to God. He isn’t taken by surprise. He’s constantly got you on His mind, and knows that you’re about to call on Him, and what you’re going to ask for. When Jesus faced the crisis of Lazarus’ death, He turned straight to His Father for help. Outside the tomb, as the stone was rolled away, the Bible tells us that Jesus ‘looked up to heaven and said “Father, thank you for hearing me”’ (John 11:41 NLT). Moments later, Lazarus emerged, alive. We don’t know what Jesus’ prayer was. He didn’t say it out loud. He didn’t need to. Maybe He made His request silently in His heart. Jesus was so completely in line with His Father’s will, and so close to Him, He probably didn’t even need to consciously think it. Jesus knew God had already heard and anticipated His prayer, and so He simply thanked God for hearing. And God answered. The reality is that God knows exactly what we need before we do, even before we realise we need Him.
What now?
Start the day by saying to God: ‘Thank You for all the prayers You’re going to answer today. Thank You that you’ve already anticipated my needs.’