We thank God for what He has done in the lives of our prodigals, and we thank God for what He is doing in their lives. However, recently I’ve realized that we can also thank Him for what He has done in the future for them. Scripture bears out that what God has promised He will do.

Hannah is a great example of attitude and faith after receiving a promise. After she received her promise from the Lord through the high priest Eli, she “went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad” (1 Samuel 1:18 NKJV). We will also visit other examples.

Do we live like pray-ers who’ve received a promise from God? Some days I do, and some I don’t, but I will tell you that I am now thanking Him rather regularly not only for what He has done and what He is doing, but also for what He has done in the future.

Let’s look at what the Bible says about done, doing, done, and then we will look at just a few promises from the Lord as shared by pray-ers as being promises they can count on.

What He Has Done

Let’s jump right into the Word:

• “Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:8-9).
• “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory” (Psalm 98:1).
• “Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things!” (Joel 2:21).
• “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31).

Thank You, Lord, for all You’ve already done in our prodigals’ lives, including Jesus’ sacrifice in their place on the cross!

What He Is Doing

The Bible tells us He is still doing:

• “Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men” (Psalm 66:5).
• “‘I work, and who will reverse it?’” (Isaiah 43:13).
• “‘I know whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him’” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).
• “‘Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?’” (Exodus 15:11).

Thank You, Lord, for what You are doing in their lives. We witness answers to our prayers and the prayers of others, and we are grateful for the things we see and the things You’re doing that we don’t yet know about.

What He Has Done in Our Future

Scripture reveals that what God said before and what He says today will be true in the future, will happen in our future, no matter what man plans and says or what Satan plans and says.

Here are some things the Word tells us about the Lord:

• “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:11).
• “‘God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?’” (Numbers 23:19).

Here are some things the Word tells us the Lord says about Himself:

• “‘Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand’” (Isaiah 14:24 KJV).
• ‘So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it’” (Isaiah 55:11).
• “‘My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips’” (Psalm 89:34).
• “‘For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry’” (Habakkuk 2:3).
• “‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away’” (Jesus in Matthew 24:35).

Isaiah 57:15 tell us God “inhabits eternity,” giving us just one more reason to trust that what He says will come to pass. He is omnipresent. He lives in eternity. He lives in the future, so He sees what He will have already done there, and we can trust Him to always keep His word!

Thank You, Lord, for what You’ve already done in our prodigals’ lives in our future! We are just catching up in time!

Promises Done in Our Future

Abraham “did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (Romans 4:20-21). We are to do the same.

Joshua reminded the children of Israel: “And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed” (Joshua 23:14 NKJV). We are to know the same.

“Then Job answered the LORD and said: ‘I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You’” (Job 42:1–2 NKJV). We are to know the same.

Paul said he was “in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” (Titus 1:2). We are to do the same.

We are to do and know the same because “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it “(1 Thessalonians 5:24).

His Word tells us:

• “The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore” (Psalm 121:7-8). He will!
• “The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:10). He does!
• “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). He does!

He speaks in first person in His Word to tell us:

• “‘Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom’” (Jesus in Luke 12:32 KJV).
• “‘I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, And restore comforts to him And to his mourners’” (Isaiah 57:18).

These promises from the Word came from people who pray for prodigals they love:

• Sue: “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
• Bridgette: “But thus says the LORD: ‘Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children’” (Isaiah 49:25).
• Jeannine: “‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,’ Says the LORD” (Isaiah 54:17).
• Amanda: “‘Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh’” (Ezekiel 11:19 NKJV).
• Caryn: “‘There is hope in your future, says the LORD, That your children shall come back to their own border’” (Jeremiah 31:17).

We can thank Him now for things He has done in the future, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (1 Corinthians 1:20 NKJV).

God has done. He is doing. He has done in the future.

And we can thank Him for all three!