TREASURES FROM GOD'S WORD, Week of January 27 to February 2, 2025, What will you do after praying? Prepared Speech.

TREASURES FROM GOD'S WORD, January 27, February 2, 2025, What will you do after praying? . Prepared Speech.

What will you do after praying? (10 mins.).

It is possible that some of us have experience in planting a plant or sowing a seed, and if you are a gardener, you will understand it even better. What does a gardener do when he plants a seed? After planting it, what do you do? You don't just sit back and wait for the plant to magically grow, you have to water the soil, take care of the weeds, provide it with the sunlight it needs, water, etc.

Similarly, when we pray to Jehovah, we are sowing, so to speak, a seed of our faith, but for that seed to grow and bear fruit, we need to do more than just pray. We need to hear Jehovah's answer, and once we get it, we must act accordingly. And that is what we are going to talk about in this section of treasures of the Bible, with the title: What will you do after praying?

First we want to understand something very, very clear. Prayer is not a monologue, that is, only we speak. Prayer is a dialogue with our heavenly father. We speak and Jehovah also speaks. We ask, Jehovah can answer. Jehovah also asks through his Word, and He waits for our response. That's why the question said, after praying, What will you do?

And for this let's take as an example King David, a man who knew Jehovah deeply. He offers us an excellent example in the Psalms.

LET'S READ 141:5.

If someone righteous hits me, it would be a gesture of loyal love; If he rebuked me, it would be like oil on my head, which my head would never reject. I will continue praying even during your misfortunes.

Here David is recognizing the value of correction and, of course, he was willing to accept the guidance of other servants of God. We want to recognize that prayer is powerful, but it is not enough. We need to complement our prayers with actions. Let's give an example. If we ask Jehovah to help us control our anger, we must be willing to make changes in our lives, such as learning to manage stress and avoiding triggering situations.

If we ask Jehovah to help us find a job, what should we do? Sit back and wait for the seeds to miraculously grow into a plant and bear fruit? No. Yes, we need to find a job, we must be willing to look for opportunities and also, if necessary, develop some skills that some say we have hidden, that is, start doing something that we were not thinking of doing.

One can have a certain profession, have studied for that branch, to do that activity, but if there is no longer work in that because that type of work is becoming scarce, we can look for other alternatives, start something that we had not prepared for, but that is what is offering us the opportunity to obtain resources to continue supporting ourselves.

Now, the biblical text that we read from Psalm 141: 5. It also said that the answer to prayer may not be so pleasant, because it said, if a righteous person struck me, he would rebuke me... If you ask Jehovah for something Have you not thought that perhaps this is Jehovah's way of responding to you, to correct what you are doing wrong? David said, “I would never reject, I would keep praying.”

Therefore, what will you do after praying? Will you only expect nice, beautiful things to happen in your life as a response from Jehovah? David clearly said that sometimes we shouldn't expect that. Another way in which we can receive Jehovah's response is by meditating.

LET'S READ PSALM 143:5.

I remember times past; I meditate on everything you have done; With great interest I reflect on the work of your hands.

In this verse, David finds comfort and guidance by meditating on the works of Jehovah. Like him, we can find answers to our prayers by reflecting on how Jehovah has acted in the past and how Jehovah cares for his people now and individually with each of us.

For most, beginning to know Jehovah was very difficult, going against the pressure of family, bosses at work, habits that had to be broken, tendencies, upbringing, everything that perhaps went against the norms of life. Jehovah, and He with great patience has formed us until we become what we are, his dedicated and baptized servants. And there is a third way to listen to what Jehovah tells us.

LET'S READ PSALM 143:10

Teach me to do your will, because you are my God. Your spirit is good; May you guide me on level ground.

We can see well here that we are asking Jehovah to help us see things as He sees them. We are recognizing that he is our God, therefore, He has more wisdom, much knowledge, and therefore, we must do what he says.

We want to apply Jehovah's counsel, and the only way is to see things from his perspective. Therefore, what will you do after praying? Let's look at the different images we have in our activity guide.

We see this young brother sitting on a park bench praying to Jehovah, sincerity is evident in what you are requesting, very good communication with Jehovah, looking towards the heavens and opening his heart to Jehovah to ask for something specific. Remember prayer is not a monologue, that is, it is not just one who speaks, now it is a conversation, it is a dialogue. How does Jehovah respond to this brother's request?

In the second image, where this young brother is with a mature brother, possibly he begins to give him the advice he so desperately needed, because Jehovah is using that brother to do it. You prayed to Jehovah, very well, but remember, as the psalmist said in Psalm 141:5, that if the righteous one struck us, it would be a kindness.

This older brother's advice may not be what we wanted to hear, but that is Jehovah's answer, and David said he was not going to reject that. Accept the advice, it is possible that this is Jehovah's answer to your prayer.

In the following image, what is our brother doing? He is investigating the point he wants to find, the answer, the solution, the guidance from Jehovah and it is in his word. And the Bible is our main source of guidance, as we meditate on it, we come to understand Jehovah's point of view, and we make or must be willing to make changes in our lives.

Like the gardener who cares for his plant, we must care for our relationship with Jehovah. Let us pray regularly, meditate on his word, seek his guidance and act accordingly. When we do, we experience the peace that passes all understanding and the joy of knowing that we are doing the will of our heavenly father.