Prayer: Does it work?

Prayer is a key component to a Christian life. In 1st John the bible says, "Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for." 1 John 5:14-15.

We pray to God and never believe God will actually follow through.

God always answers prayers. He says yes, no, or not right now. He knows we struggle with faith, but he says if we have faith even as small as a mustard seed, he will move mountains.

We pray unspecific prayers, "bless my friend". When someone asks us to pray for them, our next question should be, what specifically would you like me to pray about?

We do not pray because we do not think God is interested. I remember when I was in my late 20s I went to my doctor because I was feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. I thought I was anemic. I had 3 babies age 5 and under and was apparently just tired! I remember telling the physician that I likely just needed to spend more time in prayer, and he told me to leave the praying for the big stuff. He told me that God does not micromanage and does not have time for the details. This stuck with me for a long time. I really respected this physician and actually stopped praying for things that seemed minimal. Thankfully, I prayed in my early 30s that God would give me an deeper desire to read His word, the Bible. He did, of course. I learned that God loved me and every detail of my life. This could not be farther from the truth. Think about the detail God put in every part of the universe. He pulled us together atom by atom, cell by cell, and part by part. He is God! He is not limited by time or space. He has an endless supply of...everything.

Some things impede our prayers. One is sin. God says he will not hear our prayers when we sin. Pride also impedes our prayers. Pride does not let us put complete trust in God. Pride pushes us to "do it ourselves" rather than asking for help. Lastly, pride does not allow us to share our pain with others and struggle to admit we are struggling. God desired his people to come together and pray for each other. He wants us to love each other and help each other.

I leave you with one of my most favorite prayers in the bible in Collosians. "For this reason since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks for the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light." Collosians 1: 9-12.

If you need prayer, please let me know. Click the [prayer request] tab at the top right corner of the home page.

Pray for each other and love each other.

Have a great week!

Love,

Crystal