God Does Miracles So That We Will Believe

John 11:1-6; 11-14

God answers prayer so we will believe; is He waiting for you to pray?

Soul Food

“Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days….

…….After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

- John 11:1-6; 11-14 (NIV)

Soul Search

• Do you believe God hears your prayers and that He will answer them?
  Why or why not?

• If you really believed that God hears prayers and answers them, would you find yourself praying more?
  If you struggle with praying, is it because you really don’t believe it does any good?

• What is going on in your life right now that you would want God to fix or change if He did answer your prayers?
  Is it possible that He’s simply waiting for you to ask so that He can show you He is real through His power to answer prayer?

Soul Moves

• If you don’t already know, then ask God to show you why you don’t believe in prayer. 
  If it’s because you don’t believe in God, are you willing to ask God to reveal Himself to you? 
  If you are, then be prepared for God to make His presence in this world – and in your world – unmistakable.

• Begin to make notes and journal your prayers and the dates that you begin asking God for answers. 
  Then, when your prayers are answered, make notes as to how they were answered and what impact it had on you.

• When God’s timeline for answering prayer is different than yours, determine to be OK with that. 
  Acknowledge that God’s ways are above and beyond your ways – and beyond your understanding. (Read Isaiah 55:8,9)