The Assurance of Things Unseen

Do you ever feel like your prayers are not being heard by God?  Have you prayed for something for years even, but still no answer?  I'm sure we all have felt that way, but I am also sure that many of us can testify with answers to longstanding prayers that were the result of the Lord working in unseen ways - giving the assurance of things unseen...

The Assurance of Things Unseen - The Holy Spirit

Years ago, before I was a believer, a friend and neighbor of mine introduced me to her friend Cindy.  We all had young daughters and would get together for playdates.  As Cindy and I got to know each other, she invited me to do a Bible Study with  her which ultimately led me to a saving knowledge of the Lord.

Cindy later shared that her friend and prayer partner, Ruth, had been praying over our meetings together, asking the Lord to open my eyes to His saving Grace - working in the unseen places of my heart.

The quiet work of the Holy Spirit was being accomplished through two dear sisters in the Lord; one through secret prayer {the assurance of things unseen...}  and the other through visible time spent in God's word together.

When I became a believer, my husband still was not.  I would excitedly come home and share with him those things I was learning in Bible study and what true Grace really meant.  My husband, a scientist, looked at everything in black and white when it came to talking about salvation in Christ Jesus.  It appeared it was going to be very difficult to help lead him to the Lord.

Cindy and Ruth diligently prayed together for my husband's salvation...  {the assurance of things unseen...} My husband received Christ as His Lord and Savior a year or so after I did!  And...  years later, went on to receive his M. Div at Bethel Seminary of the East!

I hope to offer encouragement to anyone who has been praying for months, years or even decades for a loved one's salvation to not lose heart.

The wind blows wherever it wants.  

Just as you can hear the wind but can't

 tell where it comes from  or where it is going, 

so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."  John 3:8

The Holy Spirit's work may not be perceivable in those He is regenerating, but He does indeed move through the prayers of the saints, according to His will in that persons life, in His perfect timing and for His Glory.  Believers can have assurance of things unseen...

The Assurance of Things Unseen - Increases Faith

A couple of years ago, I had a very serious matter for prayer; a request which appeared had already received an answer of "no" from the Lord.  The very thing I prayed would NOT happen did!  But in desperation, I continued to pray and ask for prayer.  I shared the situation with a dear sister-in-the Lord whose prayers I have always coveted.   I will never forget what she said to me.  She looked at me very confidently and assuredly said, "I believe the Lord is going to work in an unseen way to reverse this situation." I clung to those words...

Within the week, the situation had been reversed!!  Through a couple of very random unseen mishaps (which were revealed later) the Lord worked to stop what had already been in motion!  I cannot even express the incredible joy and gratitude I felt to the Lord for answering the prayer in such a profound way; how He used my friend to speak peace and Truth over me while I waited...

God used my perceived answer of "no" to a prayer for the purpose of increasing my faith in a mighty way.

I realize that not every matter for prayer is going to be reversed to what we want, if the outcome is not what we hoped for.  I have had many answers to prayer that were a definitive "no".  But in God's mercy, I was able to see years later why the answer was no for some of those prayers and was indeed thankful for the "no" because God's answer was above and beyond what I had prayed for in the first place!

When we pray, the Holy Spirit's activity in the matter may not be apparent sometimes.  But God is indeed working through every one of our prayers for His Glory and our good.

In quiet trust, we have the assurance of things unseen...

The Assurance of Things Unseen - A Baby Changes Everything

I knew of a  young Christian married couple who had an unplanned pregnancy.  I know for me, even though my husband and I planned our pregnancies, when I found out I was pregnant for my first, there was that moment of, "Oh no, what have I done??  My whole life is going to change!"  I can't imagine what it was like for this young couple who were not planning on a baby to suddenly realize they were having a baby!   It was a tumultuous time filled with emotion as they adjusted to the reality that they were going to have a baby even though they were in a transitional time in their life.   But despite this, the couple thanked God for the new life growing inside...

As the months of the pregnancy went on, God brought so much redemption and joy to this little family.  It was clear that the Lord had planned great and wonderful blessings through the growing baby and his ultimate birth - the assurance of things unseen... 

 My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret...

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there were none of them.

Psalm 139:15-16

A baby moving inside it's mother can be looked upon as an analogy of the Holy Spirit working to grow God's children on the inside - in the unseen places.

The Assurance of Things Unseen - God is ALWAYS Active

The Holy Spirit accomplishes God's will and purposes for our lives, sometimes in very unexpected ways, to draw us closer to the Lord, increase our faith, strengthen us, encourage us, delight us and most especially to bring all Glory and Honor to God.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  

Romans 8:26-27

It seems the hardest answers to wait upon are prayers for salvation of a loved one, and prayers for family, trials and matters of health.  Whether we are praying or not, it's hard to be in difficult situations no matter what they are.  We want results whether it be an answer to prayer or for the bad circumstance to end.  In our flesh, it's hard to see past it, past the clouds...

On an absolutely cloudy dreary day, sitting in a plane on a runway waiting to take off, it's hard to believe you will see the sun in just a few minutes.  The plane takes off, climbing higher and higher, breaking through the clouds.   And there it is!  The bright sun, where it has always been...

And so it is with the Son...  the assurance of things unseen...

God is always on His throne.  

For the eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the whole earth, 

to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him. 

 2 Chronicles 16:9

If you are in a circumstance where you feel like the Lord is silent, please be encouraged - silence does not equal inactivity of God or the absence of God.   God's Word promises us that:

For  I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

 plans for welfare and not for calamity

 to give you a future and a hope.  Jeremiah 29:11

It is the Lord that goes before you.  He will be with you; 

He will not leave you or forsake you. 

Do not fear or be dismayed.  

Deuteronomy 31:8

Be encouraged, just because the land is barren with no inhabitants {to be a witness}, 

does not mean that God has not sent the rain onto 

the parched land to make the tender grass shoot spring up...  

Job 38:26-27

For similar posts, click on the following:

How to Foster Hope When Circumstances Disappoint

How to Trust God in Times of Uncertainty

Believing the Unseen

3 Effective Ways Christians Can Overcome Doubt

3 Biblical Encouragements for Remaining Hopeful in Hardship

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