On one occasion, Moses and God were having a conversation and the issue of the glory of God came up. Moses asked God to show him His glory. God responded by saying that He would cause all of His goodness to pass in front of Moses (Exodus 33:12-19). The promise of seeing God’s goodness was given to Moses in the place of prayer. Seeing the goodness of God is one of the benefits of prayer and fellowship with God. As you daily commune with God in prayer, may you see ALL of God’s goodness not a part or a little bit of God’s goodness, but ALL of God’s goodness.
Psalm 33:5 tells us that the earth is full of the goodness of God. The earth is full of people that have evidences of the goodness of God; people who have seen the goodness of God as they prayed to Him. You have to taste and see that the Lord is good, you have to personally connect with God in the place of prayer, worship and intimacy to have your own personal experiences of the goodness of God. God abounds in goodness and truth (Exodus 34:6), and He is good all the time. Even when we don’t get the answer we want, we can be assured that any answer God gives us is a ‘right fit’; it is what is appropriate and suitable for us in that season of our life, because every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17).
Giving has always been one of the fundamental ways God expresses His love. He gave us His only Son, as a public declaration of His love (John 3:16). He gives us good gifts as we pray as a demonstration of His unfailing love (Luke 11:13). What are some of the good things God does or gives as we call to Him, as we pray to Him? He can bring you out of a horrible pit. In Psalm 40: 1-2, David said “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me, and heard my cry, He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock.” Are you in a horrible pit; a very bad, messy and embarrassing situation? Are you in a horrible pit of sinful, destructive habits? Is your health failing or are you in a horrible financial mess? May the goodness of God run after you as you pray. May you see the hand of God stretched out to you, to pull you out of every horrible pit you have fallen into.
God does not unfairly and unreasonably withhold good things from us. He is not that kind of Father, Master and Lord. The Lord is good to those who patiently wait for Him and seek His face, hand and help (Psalm 84:11, Lamentations 3: 25). As people sincerely, persistently and earnestly call out to God in prayer, God shows His goodness by putting an end to insults, mockery, shame and reproach. This was the situation Hannah found herself in. She didn’t have a child and Peninnah, her rival, kept using this to insult and mock Hannah, and drive Hannah to the point of tears (I Samuel 1:6). If you are in this situation, don’t give up in the place of prayer, don’t get tired and frustrated with praying because you have prayed once, twice or more, and still no answer has come. God is mindful of what you are going through and He will show you His goodness. He is the same God yesterday, today and forevermore. Like He did for Hannah, He will give you an answer to your prayer that will silence all your mockers and strip you completely free of every garment of shame and reproach.
God’s goodness can be seen in the unbelievable and unimaginable things He does as people pray to Him. Who would have thought that a hundred year old man whose body was as good as dead could father a son, or a ninety year old woman whose body was dead by human and medical standards could still get pregnant? (Romans 4:18-19).
Never believe any situation is beyond God. When God decides to show His goodness in the place of prayer, He shows the world that He isn’t bound, limited or controlled by age, medical reports or scientific theories. God does the unbelievable as we call on Him; He does things that can blow your mind. How good is God’s goodness which He has stored up for those who fear Him (Psalm 31:19)?
No matter how long your problem has dragged on, you can see the goodness of God as you touch God in the place of prayer. The woman with the issue of blood had a health challenge that had dragged on for 18 years. But when she came to Jesus and touched the helm of His garment, that long-standing health problem was terminated (Luke 8:43-48). You can still touch the helm of Jesus’ garment today by reaching out to Him in prayer. By holding on to God with faith in the place of prayer, you can become a recipient of the goodness of God; you can see God put an end to every long-standing problem in your life and family.
God is in a class of His own. He is an incomparable God who does things no man can do. Have you sought help from different people and places, yet nothing has changed about your situation? There is a God who can do what no rich and influential person can do. God can do what no specialists or expert in a particular field can do. This last month of the year, God will do for you what no man can do. He will answer you out of the goodness of His love, in His mercy He will turn to you and help you where men have failed you (Psalm 69:16).
God is a good God and His steadfast love never ceases. Even when we have failed Him, He still shows us His goodness. God has a beautiful way of lavishing His love on the undeserving and unqualified. After the prodigal son had arrogantly demanded his inheritance from his father, squandered it on wild living, and was so broke to the point that he couldn’t afford a decent meal, he realized that the only reasonable option he had was to go back to his father (Luke 15:18-19). Though the prodigal son had treated his father badly, had done things to make himself undeserving of his father’s love and acceptance, when he went back to his father, his father didn’t throw him out or punish him. Instead, his father welcomed him back home with hands of love. When we pray to God, one of the amazing things that happens is that God’s grace, love, kindness and goodness qualifies us for blessings we aren’t qualified to receive, blessings we don’t deserve. What a good God we serve! The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all that He has made (Psalm 145:9).
God has an avalanche of good answers to give when we pray; answers that show His unparalleled and unequalled love for us. So, don’t be tired of coming to God. Even if you have come so many times this year and you haven’t gotten the answer you want, don’t get frustrated and give up. Don’t lose heart, believe in God, trust in God and you will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of living (Psalm 27:13).