Today’s Key Scripture (all references NKJV unless otherwise noted)

Before they call out, I’ll answer.

Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard.

— Isaiah 65:24, MSG

Acts chapter 10 reveals an interesting account of how God speaks when we pray. Cornelius, a God-fearing Gentile, was in prayer when God instructed him to go to Joppa and find a man named Peter.

Shortly before he arrived at his destination, Peter was in prayer and God spoke to him saying, “What God has cleansed you must not call common” (verse 15). While contemplating what this could mean, Cornelius knocked on the apostle’s door. After Cornelius explained his vision, Peter immediately understood what God was saying: that the Kingdom of God is open not only to the Jew, but to the Gentile as well.

God divinely orchestrated a meeting between these two men—which literally changed the direction of the Church for succeeding generations—while they were both in prayer.

Do not expect to hear from God unless you are committed to being a prayerful person.

“God does nothing but in answer to prayer,” John Wesley once said.

Everything God does is in response to prayer. Everything God says is in response to prayer. He knows the answer, even before you pray, but you must call upon Him!

A Prayer for Today:

Dear Lord, I’ll openly admit that there is so little I understand about prayer. How many times have I prayed for a specific thing, often for what seems a long time. I can understand when the request isn’t answered the way I want or when I want. I tend to forget that my time is not Your time. It sometimes seems like an eternity while waiting for the answer I want. Help me to remember that I must persist in prayer, even as my faith grows and strengthens. Help me to trust that You are working in my behalf and that when the answer comes, it will always be the right time. I pray this in the matchless Name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Amen!