Isaiah 65:1 (NLT) The Lord says, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name.

When talking about prayer, the focus is always on people praying to get God to respond. We focus on our part in approaching God with petitions and requests, trying to garner faith the size of a mustard seed so that we can see God move in our lives because the Word of God says that without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:16). But hardly anyone has stopped to think of God's part in all of this. Many see the Lord as a reluctant God that does not answer many prayers and many people hardly ever experience the wonder and the blessing of God's miraculous interventions in response to prayer. While it may be true that many do not experience God's power on their behalf, the problem is never with God. It is always with us.

In the passage of scripture above, we read some astounding words from God that indict many people who make the claim that God doesn't answer prayer. Here He says that He stands poised and ready to answer any call for help. He is standing before us, ready to make Himself known. But it's all for naught because many are not even asking for help. Let me rephrase that another way: many people (Christians) do not pray. Some of the people that say that they do pray are usually talking about saying grace over their meals or reciting a two-sentence prayer before they go to sleep. That's not prayer, that's ritual. Prayer is actually connecting with God by speaking with Him and including Him in every aspect of our lives. One of the glaring proofs that many people are not keen on prayer is our prayer meetings. A vast number of churches don't even bother with them because most people do not show up to pray. Even big churches who have big numbers of people show up on Sundays experience just a fraction of that attendance if they do have a prayer meeting during the week. So while many like to place the blame on God for His seeming lack of interest in our needs, the reality is that it is a lack of interest and a lack of faith in His people that is the cause for the sad state of affairs among God's people.

God says that He is ready to help. He says that He is ready to be found. But no one is asking and no one is seeking. The Word of God is clear that it is those who ask that receive and those that seek who find (Matthew 7:7). Be an asker and a seeker and you will definitely experience the glory of God through answered prayer and through His intervention in the circumstances of your life. He is ready. He has always been ready to hear us and to help us. The question is, are you ready?

Pastor Joey Vazquez