Prayer Involves…
- Admission—”I can’t do it myself.”
- Submission—we bow our desires before the presence of our sovereign Savior.
- Transmission—God’s Spirit intercepts our petition and intercedes on our behalf.
- Intermission—waiting on God between the time we ask and the time He answers.
- Permission—God says “Yes.”
- Revision—”God says “another way!” At times God delivers as we pray.
For example, Peter miraculously escaped from his Roman guards while the Jerusalem church prayed (Acts 12:5-17). At times God detours, such as He did with Christ. Instead of allowing Christ to ascend before Calvary, that ascension did not occur until afterward (Mark 14:36). He reached his destination but by an alternative route. God also delays.
Zacharias and Elizabeth had prayed for a son over the decades of their married life. It was not until they were beyond childbearing age that God answered (Luke 1:13). God also can say no. (Psalm 66:18, Isaiah 1:15).