The Problem With Prayer (Our Thirty-second 4th Day)

The problem with prayer.

You may think it odd that my topic today is the problem with prayer. Especially when I've urged you on more than one occasion to "pray continuously" and "pray for others". Well, it is a bit odd. But I've decided to talk about it because it relates to my 4th Day experience today.

The problem with prayer is not really a problem with prayer, but a problem with us. I've been praying very recently about an issue (but I don't want that to become the focus of this discussion, so let it suffice to say that it is a very insignificant issue when compared to other world issues, but important enough to me to bring it to God--or at least I think so--but more later).

The problem with prayer is that we either don't hear God's answer or we don't want to hear God's answer. So, we conclude, God doesn't answer. Well, that's just plain unbiblical. Throughout the Bible we read of God answering the prayers of the faithful (yet sometimes the doubtful), but never not answering the prayers. Jesus taught us how to pray. He told parables of how we should pray relentlessly (as the widow petitioned the judge). Doesn't Jesus promise "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you"?

I learned something else: Nothing is too small to bring to God, for if we don't trust Him with the little stuff, how are we going to trust Him with the big stuff. That's another important lesson. Didn't Jesus teach us to pray for the simple things? Food (daily bread), forgiveness (receiving and giving), and protection (deliver us from evil)? Those are pretty simple things to ask for.

Pray for healing, not a cure. Too often we pray for a cure for ourselves and others, when what we should pray for is healing. What if Jesus didn't finish His prayer in Gethsemane with "not my will, but yours be done" after asking to have the cup taken from Him? The next verse says, An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. The cure would have been to take the cup from Him. But instead, the Father sent healing for His Son, because healing is what was needed. If the cup had been taken away, we would all be dead in our sin today.

The Lord responded to my prayer today, at the end of the workday. Interesting that it took that long or that it happened the way it did. Not a direct answer, but an acknowledgement that my prayer had been heard. He answered it in such a way that I will have to solve the problem, but still let me know He heard me. Sometimes, that's all the answer we need, knowing God hears us.

So you see, the problem with prayer really isn't a problem with prayer, it's a problem with us. Be still and listen for God's answer. He will speak.

De Colores,
Bill
WV88