When you pray are you doing it for an answer or a purpose? Is it just something you think you're supposed to do? Is praying really all it's cracked up to be?
In Matthew 21:22, Jesus says, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Jesus explained to his disciples after they were amazed at the withering of the fig tree, that all they had to do was have genuine faith. And if the they TRULY believed they would receive.
There are some days I find it easier than others to just simply have faith. Especially when my mind is clouded with the roadblocks Satan has placed there.
I remember the first time I saw a prayer at work. I was about 12 years old and I went to the zoo with a friend of the family. We pulled into the parking lot and it started pouring down. I closed my eyes and prayed for the rain to stop. When I opened them the sky was completely clear. I thought for the longest time that I had performed a miracle! After that I started praying every night before I went to bed. I thought that's how I would stay protected. Even during my worse nights I never missed a prayer.
One of the few times I attended church as a child I remember when the preacher was done praying he said, "In Jesus Name Amen." I wasn't sure what that meant, but I thought it sounded cool. So that's how I ended every bed time prayer.
Matthew 21:22 came to life for myself and my family in 2006. My mom was rushed to the ER. The next day she had surgery to remove her burst appendix. By the time the surgeons began to operate gangrene had set in and her lungs had collapsed. She wasn't expected to make it through the night. She had so many tubes hooked to her and there were so many numbers on the monitors it was hard to keep up. We didn't know what to do, but saying goodbye wasn't an option. As my step-dad, Tom, sat by her side the monitor levels continued to decrease. Things weren't looking very positive.
Tom closed his eyes and prayed. He prayed for her oxygen levels, her heart rate, her blood pressure. He prayed for specifics. "If you let her get through tonight, she can make it." He opened his eyes and watched as every one of the levels on the monitor went back up. We all made it through the night, and the next week she came home.
Would she have died if he wouldn't have prayed that prayer? I don't know. It's not my place to know. But I do know this much: before Tom closed his eyes he had the most important thing, FAITH. And that's all he needed. He "believed and he received what he asked for in prayer."
As my walk with Christ grows everyday, I find myself constantly praying. I can be driving down the road and I'll turn the radio down and just talk to Him. I get up in the morning and I just talk. He may not always give me what I want, but He ALWAYS answers me with exactly what I need.
So, is prayer really all it's cracked up to be? ABSOLUTELY!
In Jesus Name, Amen.
Check out this link. It just goes to show you can have fun while you pray. http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=4030d8c365456db040dc
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1 comment:
I think you hit the nail on the head! A lot of times people feel their prayers have been ignored when they don't get the answer they were hoping for. It's hard to see God working in your life when you are so one sided. I'm reading this really great book it's called Get off your knees and pray. It's given me such a different take on what my prayer life should look like. Anyways, great blog. I love reading them and keep the faith!
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