The great power of answered prayer can stun us. We know that prayer works but when God's answer is so clear and immediately impactful, we can be overwhelmed to the point that we're unsure of how to respond. The most obvious thing we do is to thank him, but what about when we want to go beyond this?
While our response will never be as great as the gifts God gives us, we can be more passionate about the way in which we show our appreciation, and how we let God's intervention shape us. If God's answer to any one of your recent prayers has left you contemplating what you should do next, here are three things you should do and one thing you should never do.
Don't forget the source of your breakthrough
God answered your prayer? Great! But there's an easy mistake we can make. That heavy burden on our shoulders has been lifted and now we're free. That barrier in our way has been removed. That thing we wanted for years is actually ours - finally! Now we're running headfirst, full speed into our new lives without looking back and without looking at God. And maybe, just maybe, even giving a little bit of the credit to ourselves. After all, weren't we ever so diligent in praying for it? And didn't we do just a little bit of the hard work to make our dream happen? If that sounds like you, stop right there and take a moment to remember who it was that worked things for your good, moved the mountains that were in your way, and answered your prayers better than you could have answered them yourself.
Give sincere thanks
The obvious thing to do is give thanks. While thanking God is likely to be our immediate response, it can so easily be the case that we put so much more effort into praying to God asking for something than we do into praying thanks after He's given us it. If you know that you need to get better at giving thanks and make them more than a passing expression, Psalm 95:2-3 has some wonderful pointers: "Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods." Try thanking God in more than one way – singing his praises through dedicated worship, telling friends and family how he's intervened or even keeping a diary of thanks to refer to every now and then. Use the joy that you feel when he responds to inspire you.
Pay it forward
"Freely you have received; freely give," (Matthew 10:8) Just as we love because He first loved us and because we forgive because He forgave us, when our prayers are answered we have a great platform to do something special for someone else. Let answered prayer invigorate you to have a positive impact on someone's day, help them through a troubled time, or lift their mood. Not all of our prayers are answered in the way that we'd like, and some of us have difficulty in hearing God's answer at all. If you know someone who is struggling with either of these issues, find a way to use your experience of answered prayer to encourage them.
Pray it forward
Answered prayer isn't a one-off and there's no limit to how many times we can ask God for something. We're urged to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) so we needn't be reluctant to call on Him again after he's answered our prayers, no matter how soon it is. Showing sincerity in our thanks, actively working to do good for others and returning to God for more help as and when the need arises are a few of the ways that we can demonstrate our recognition of God's power, generosity and belief that answered prayer is real.
