Prayer

I honestly didn't know what I was going to write about, until about 7:00 PM on Sunday evening! I felt like I had nothing, nothing that was important enough o share with you all. Nothing that would make a difference, or impact anyone. I felt desperate! I thought about it for about a quarter of a second, and I came to these conclusions. Here I was, stressing out about writing something...what was I supposed to be writing about? God, and what he has been teaching me! What was I doing right now? Stressing out, and relying on myself to figure out what to write about...even though this is all supposed to be about God! Wake up call! I immediately sent up a small prayer asking for forgiveness and guidance on what God wanted me to write about. A split second after I opened my eyes, a thought came to my mind, “The power of prayer is so amazing!”. Bingo! God answered immediately!

What Is Prayer?

Prayer: In worship, a solemn address to the Supreme Being, consisting of adoration, or an expression of our sense of God's glorious perfections, confession of our sins, supplication for mercy and forgiveness, intercession for blessings on others, and thanksgiving, or an expression of gratitude to God for his mercies and benefits. A prayer however may consist of a single petition, and it may be extemporaneous*, written or printed. (Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary).

When I think of prayer, usually I think of asking for something from God. But Prayer is supposed to be so much more then that. Prayer talking to God, praising Him, asking for forgiveness from him, asking for blessings on yourself and others, and giving Him thanks for everything. I was taught the acronym ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. Notice that the asking for things part comes last. First praising God, confessing your sin to him, giving him thanks for what amazing things he has done in your life, and then asking him for blessings, etc. When we first praise, confess, and thank Him, we get a better mindset before we go asking for things. If when we pray, all we do is ask for things, that can't build our relationship with God that much! Imagine if you had a friend, and all they did was ask for stuff all the time. They never said thank you, they never wanted to have any kind of conversation, other then asking for things...How would that make you feel? It would make me feel used, and annoyed! I wouldn't feel appreciated at all! Think of how God must feel when all we do is ask for things all the time. He is the creator of the universe, he made all these things for us to enjoy, and we're always asking for more, and never thanking him for what he's given us already, never praising him for who he is, and never getting real with him about how we have sinned. Yet he stills loves us despite our lack of appreciation for him! Unlike us, who wouldn't stay friends with someone like ourselves very long, God not only listens and answers our prayers, but he also loves us, despite our selfish attitude!

God Answers Prayer

There was this time when I was about 10, that we (we meaning, Mom and us 6 kids) were driving in the van, and Dad was in his car. I remember mom answering her phone, and sighing heavily as she heard that Dad had just been pulled over for speeding. There was no hope of just getting a warning, because he had gotten a few tickets for the same problem recently. We were in a tough financial position, and a ticket was not something we needed at that point! After mom got off the phone, she told us that we were going to meet Dad, so that they could talk. I knew that it wasn't good that Dad was getting another ticket. I had been testing God a lot at that point, and I wanted proof that he did answer prayers, so I told him that if I was going to believe that he did answer prayers, that Dad wouldn't get this ticket. When we got the place where Mom and Dad were meeting up, Dad was leaning up against his car waiting. Dad got into the passenger seat, and before he could say anything, Mom asked, “How much is it?”. Dad then said something remarkable, “I didn't get a ticket!”. I wish I could relay the amount of surprise that was on both of their faces at that moment. Dad went on to say he didn't know why the officer had not given him a ticket, he said maybe she had been touched by his telling her that he was pushing the speed so that he could go and see his wife sooner. I of course knew why she hadn't, it was because God was proving to me that he does answer prayer. Though I did not accept Christ as my personal savior until I was 14, I always remembered that as a proof of God's faithfulness to us. God does answers prayers, though, that doesn't mean that he always answers how we want, or expect him to, but he always will answer prayer!

2Corinthians 12:8-9

“8For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9And he said unto me, 'My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.'...”

Paul, begged God to remove the thorn in his flesh, but God said no. God will not always answer yes to our prayers, sometimes it wont make sense to us, but the answer is still no. We may not understand then, but we will in a future day, on this earth, or in heaven. God told Paul, that His strength was made perfect through Paul's weakness. We may not understand fully why the answer is no, but it is for the best, even if it doesn't feel like it right then. God is all knowing, and though from our point of view we may not understand completely why things happen the way they do, God does, and he knows what is best for us! God sees the big picture, we don't.

And God, of course, will not always say no! Take this example from Acts 12.

Acts 12:5 12-16

“5Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him....12And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. 13And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. 14And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. 15And they said unto her, 'Thou art mad'. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, 'It is his angel.'. 16But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.”

For background, King Herod had imprisoned Peter, within four quaternions of solders. There was no way he was getting out! Yet the Christians kept praying, asking for the release of Peter. An Angel of the Lord came while Peter was sleeping, and broke his chains, and led him out without any fuss. Peter thought it must have been a vision, but he soon realized that it was true, he was free! Peter immediately went to the place where the Christians were gathered, and knocked on the gate, to tell them the good news. The girl Rhoda who came the the gate, was so excited to see Peter, that instead of opening the gate for him, she ran inside and told everyone that he was standing outside! Now here is where it gets really interesting, the Christians wouldn't believe her! They called her mad, and said that it must be Peter's angel. They wouldn't believe that God had actually answered their prayer, and released Peter! When they finally came out to the gate and saw him, they were astonished! They were surprised at God's faithfulness! God reminded them of the power of prayer; he reminded them that he does answer prayer, and he reminded them of his love for them, all by rescuing Peter from King Herod.

*I am including the definition of extemporaneous because I didn't know what it meant until I had looked it up, so I thought it might be helpful for you too.

Extemporaneous: Composed, performed or uttered at the time the subject occurs, without previous study; unpremeditated; as an extemporaneous address; an extemporaneous production; an extemporaneous prescription. (Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

To Be Continued Next Week....