Once upon a time there was a little girl, who was distressed because her brother set up a trap to catch sparrows. She prayed that the bird trap will fall apart. On one particular day she was looking very happy and began to pray really hard for 3 days. Her faith was without fault that her mother asked her ” why are you so sure that your prayer will be answered?” The girl smiled and said “I went out there 3 days ago and kicked the trap into pieces!”

The second prayer in the bible which was also by Abraham is in Genesis 17:15-22.

Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? ” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. (‭Genesis‬ ‭17‬:‭15-22‬ NKJV)

N.B- A prayer is a conversation between a person and God. In the past, people such a Abraham could hear and speak to God clearly and directly such as the conversation in the account above.

Abraham put legs to his own prayer, by sleeping with Hagar in order to have a heir. Abraham wanted to “help” God establish the covenant he Had made about being the Father of many nations. Abraham thought it was impossible for a man who was 100 years old to raise a family. He even suggested that God should let Ishmael be the chosen heir instead. Of course, God refused the request from this prayer because he had a higher and more beautiful plan for his servant. Abraham was willing to settle for second best, but God insisted on the very best for Abraham. Are you settling for seconds best, when God has destined you for the very best?

We hear a lot about putting legs on prayer. In many cases, the admonition, in which the girl kicked the trap, is justified. However, we must remember that God refused Abraham’s “help” in working out His perfect will. God said “No!” to Abraham; and in hindsight, we can see the wisdom of that refusal. God was able to perfom a miracle, Sarah gave birth to Issac whom God established his covenant with. Think about your life at the moment, are you putting legs to your prayers? There are times when it is essential to wait and see the goodness of God, try not to be like the little girl who kicked the trap. Today, let us wait for God’s very best for us. When you pray to God regarding something in your life have faith in the way He has planned to answer that pray. Remember God’s plan is far greater than the ones we have for ourselves. 

Don’t kick the Trap!

Stay blessed,

Dara x

P.S- the next post in this Walkthrough the Major Prayers in the bible will be posted on Friday. The posts in this series will be released on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Hope you enjoy it. Stay tuned 🙂