GPBC Blog

What is the first thing that comes to our minds when we are faced with challenges, difficulties, or problems?

As human beings, our first instinct is often to look for someone who can help us. We call a friend. We call a relative. We think about who might have the resources, connections, knowledge, or ability to solve the problem.

And sometimes, only after we have exhausted everything we can think of, Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and perhaps all the way to Plan Z, do we finally say, “Maybe I should pray.”

But what if we reversed that?

What would happen if prayer became our first response rather than our last resort?

One of the stories in Scripture that comes to mind is found in Acts 10.

Cornelius was a man who feared God, prayed continually, and gave generously. One day, while praying, he received a divine message that his prayers and gifts had come before God as a memorial. He was instructed to send men to Joppa and call for Peter.

But while Cornelius’s men were on their way to find Peter, God was already preparing Peter for what was coming.

Peter was praying when he received a vision. He saw a sheet being lowered from heaven containing different kinds of animals, and he heard a voice telling him to rise, kill, and eat.

Peter resisted because, according to his understanding, he had never eaten anything impure or unclean.

But God was preparing Peter’s heart for something bigger.

Peter would soon be asked to go somewhere he might not have naturally chosen to go, to the home of a Gentile.

By the time Cornelius’s men arrived, God had already been working on Peter.

God was working on both ends.

That is something worth remembering when we are facing difficult situations.

God knows where the answer is. He knows the person. He knows the timing.

Sometimes, we become so focused on finding the right person that we forget that God already knows the right person.

Perhaps God will place someone on our hearts. Perhaps someone we have never considered will suddenly reach out to us. Or perhaps, while we are praying, He will give us the wisdom to know exactly where to go and what to do.

God uses people, but people are not the ultimate source. God is.

The story of the prodigal son gives us another beautiful picture of what it means to remember where our help comes from.

When the younger son left his father’s house, squandered his inheritance, and eventually found himself in desperate need, his first thought was not to return home to his father.

He thought of other solutions.

Eventually, he came to himself and remembered his father’s house.

But when he returned home, he received a surprise he could never have anticipated.

The son who had considered himself unworthy to be called a son was still received as a son.

The father wasn’t standing at the gate waiting to punish him.

He was waiting to welcome him home.

How often do we exhaust ourselves trying to solve our problems before remembering that we have a Father who is already waiting for us?

Making God our Plan A does not mean that we stop taking practical steps.

We still seek wise counsel. We still ask people for help. We still make phone calls. We still apply for jobs. We still pursue opportunities.

The difference is where we begin.

We make God our first source of hope and allow Him to direct us to the people, places, opportunities, and resources He chooses to use.

There is nothing wrong with asking people for help. God often answers prayers through people.

The question is: Who are we looking to first?

What if, before making the phone call, we prayed? Before sending the email, we prayed? Before deciding what to do next, we prayed?

Perhaps God will give us an answer immediately. Perhaps He will give us wisdom for the next step. Perhaps He will ask us to wait.

Whatever the answer may be, we can trust that God sees what we cannot see.

So perhaps the question we should carry with us is simply this:

When life happens, what is our Plan A?

Is God our first response, or our last resort?

May we learn to pray before we run.

May we learn to seek God first.

May we learn to trust Him enough to say:

“Lord, You know what I need. You know where the answer is. Lead me.”