Prayer and Opportunity

Call To Prayer

Title: Prayer and Opportunity

By: Njuacha Hubert

Date: 29.11.2024

31 Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”    2 Samuel 15:31

32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel’s advice.   2 Samuel 15:32-34

The word of God teaches us not to worry about anything but rather cast all those worries upon the lord in prayers (Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Peter 5:7). Pray about everything. Even the most petty things. If you want it, ask it! But we know that not everything is the will of God so the Lord will not answer everything we ask for nonetheless, at least you are free to ask. And then trust Him that He answers according to His good plans for you.

Anyway, my emphasis today is not on asking but on how prayer is tied to opportunity. In the opening verse, we see how  King David prayed and how the Lord answered by providing an opportunity. To the natural man, it may seem as though it was a coincidence but if you read 2 Samuel 17:14 you will see clearly that it was God’s answer to King David’s prayer. 

What King David did was that after praying for God to turn Ahithophel’s counsel to foolishness he then saw an opportunity present itself to carry this out and he seized it. So he prayed but after praying he continued to apply wisdom. 

You see, God provides miracles but He also gave us wisdom (and we should seek for more). God can answer miraculously without our participation or intervention but because God also gives wisdom, we have to continue to apply wisdom and seize opportunities that He provides. For instance, if you pray for healing and someone directs you to a medical center that is specialized for its treatment, right there could be your answer.

God provides miracles but sometimes your miracle is an opportunity he has provided. Be careful not to miss it because of perhaps ignorance, laziness, stubbornness, etc. So in general we should not try to limit ourselves on how God will answer our prayers which could lead to us missing answers to prayers because we couldn’t recognize it.

What this also means is that we should not take for granted opportunities and discard them as mere natural occurrences. Let the unbelievers call it luck, chance, or random. But we know better than that. We are to acknowledge God instead of attributing it to coincidence. Give Him thanks for opportunities. 

Prayer Point:

Let’s thank God for His word today. Let’s ask God for more wisdom and grace not to miss out on opportunities He provides.