Father, I thank You that You have heard me.

Today’s Scripture: John 11:41, NKJV- “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.”

Jesus is our example, and these are His words. However, we too can lift our eyes and speak to our heavenly Father. Regardless of whether Lazarus had walked out of that tomb in John 11 or whether our prayers are answered, we are to be thankful that our Heavenly Father listens to us.

John 11:42 is an interesting verse as Jesus continued speaking to God and said “And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” (NKJV) Jesus lived and spoke for our benefit. We do benefit when we look to God with thanksgiving first and believe that God sent Jesus for us. Regardless of outcomes we can praise God and trust that He has also sent us into our specific situations.

Do you have a hard time believing that God hears you? There are many verses in the Bible that assures believers that God hears their prayers. A quick Google search can provide you with plenty. However, I am betting if someone is struggling to believe God is hearing them has the same doubts about the validity of the Bible.

If we expect to understand God based on the limitations of the human brain, we will always be sorely disappointed. When we look to the power, love, and provision of an all-knowing God, we find a thanksgiving beyond our understanding. Pretending He does not exist and does not listen does not change who God is.

Many times, it takes a huge storm in our lives to force us to realize that there are things that require a power greater than ourselves to solve. When pain is unbearable, illnesses are untreatable, addictions are unbeatable, or questions are unanswerable, we can look up and cry out, with thanksgiving even, that we have a Father in heaven that hears our prayers. When we believe in Jesus, we receive everlasting life that overwhelms troubling moments.

Over history many came to believe in Jesus because they have seen what He has done. Lazarus did walk out of that tomb and many things in our lives have changed because of prayer. There will always be people that do not believe in Jesus because of various motivations. John 11:48 stated that the Pharisees, in the aftermath of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead said, “If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (BSB)

People still refuse Jesus today no matter of the evidence or what people may say to them. Just as Caiaphas, the high priest, told the Pharisees  in John 11:49 “You know nothing at all.” As John 11:52 promises,  Jesus Christ came to make us all one. But due to power struggles between the Spirit and the flesh, some will still plot Jesus’ death as they did in John 11:53.

Man cannot kill the goodness of God. When we choose to look to God we can trust the words of Joseph in Genesis 50:20, “As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.” (BSB) Jesus came to preserve the lives of all of us if we choose to follow Him.

Let us lift our eyes to the LORD today with the thanksgivings of Jesus in our hearts and mouths. We can be thankful that God’s good will always prevail.

Today’s Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for hearing our prayers. Thank You LORD for the life, words, and prayers of Your Son Jesus Christ. Help us to live and trust as Jesus did with thanksgivings. You LORD are our God and the one true source of all that is good. In the name of Jesus Christ we do pray, Amen.