So what's the point of praying about a situation and you're going to do what you want anyway? Either you trust God for direction or not. So many Christians (myself included) are guilty of this because on the one hand, God invites us to present our requests and put action behind those prayers, and on the other he expects us to leave the responsibility up to him. God gives us the power of choice but before that, we all have the ability to chose wisely if we utilize the tool(s) he have given us. Prayer helps us tap into those tools and open our heart, mind and soul. Prayer allows us to connect with positive forces. Action must follow prayer for faith without works is dead but we must discern the appropriate time to act or be able to deal with the reactions of our actions. When people pray about a situation, they are uncertain of the outcome so they pray with expectation that God will answer accordingly. God will respond in favor to our request(s) but usually he answers in his way, not ours. I believe uncertainty is a tough pill to swallow because some people pray and there's a waiting period. Many prayers God answers quickfast and others involve a waiting period. After intercessory/supplication prayers are lifted up to God, a waiting period ensues which is designed to test a believer's faith. Most believers believe God to answer prayers on the spot but when they have to wait, uncertainty sets in. I'm learning daily to lean on God for total understanding and he's never led me astray. Faith is like a muscle, it needs regular spiritual nutrition & exercise in order to get stronger. I liked what Kim Ward had to say on this topic: "Many of us have a hard time separating God's voice from the noise of the crowd (even our own voices). I have also learned not to answer for God. We pick a scenario that looks good in our sight and slap a "God's Will" label on it. I have also learned that being the boss of my business or in my house does not mean that God is punching my time clock too. I have rushed an answer to one prayer not realizing that God was answering another one of my prayers." When believers pray, they want to answer for God not realizing that God is sovereign. What we think is good for us, God may not co-sign so it would behoove us to realize that God knows best. Our time is not God's time. Another theory I have on trusting God is that because his answer doesn't line up with our own, we try to alter God's answer for our prayers and when things fall apart, we come back to him looking crazy. It boils down to this: When you pray about a situation, LEAVE it in God's hands. He will answer how he sees fit.
