The Gift of Prayer

If you’re like me, you’ve come to rely on the prayers that you pray. You believe your Father in Heaven hears your prayers and answers them. You pray before meals, during your quiet time, and throughout the day as the need arises. You believe God is active and acts on your prayers.

You are right to believe God will answer your prayers. Prayer is God’s gift to you. You are not alone nor without resources on your journey of faith. God’s got your back!

Over my lifetime I’ve probably prayed thousands of prayers. My prayers have morphed from the dispenser type variety (put this in and you get that outcome), to the praise and worship type. Many of my prayers are conversations. At times I pray one word prayers when I am tired or discouraged. All I say is “Jesus” over and over again because I’m too weary to say more.

Prayer is Practical

I’ve learned to rely on my Father’s answers. Often times I have a challenge, like this week, where fear gets the upper hand. I turn to God and ask Him if it’s going to be okay, as I did with this thing. I’ve learned I can leave it with Him and not stew about it after the assurance comes.

My son needed a ride to the airport in the middle of the night. I didn’t like the thought of driving alone after I would drop him off, 80 miles away. After wrestling with it for a while, I suggested he use the airport parking lot. He didn’t pick up on the idea. So I turned to God and then peace came. I began to view it differently. The time spent with my son would be special. I started looking forward to the drive. Last night I drove to his home, slept a few winks, got up at 2:30 a.m., and hit the road. Well, I drove the return trip from Sacramento primarily in the fog. I made it home early this morning at 6:16 a.m. God kept His end of things.

God is Faithful

I was thinking about how many prayers God has answered for me over the years. A lot of my pleas center around an undisclosed health issue that plagues me. I worry whether I’m going to have an episode while traveling. It’s a very practical reason that I pray, in this case. I also worry about what could happen, like a flat tire. Before I drove to my son’s place, a half an hour away, I was thinking about how good God is to me to be involved in answering my prayers all the time.

Because of my thoughts, I wrote this on Twitter.

I think of all the times God’s answered my prayers and I’m astounded. He meets my traveling needs by keeping me safe. He meets my financial needs by supplying when the extras pile up. He meets my family’s needs when the kids are sick or they have a new challenge. I’m grateful.

Jesus, Our Example

Jesus showed us how to pray. His prayer was remarkable in that it touched on all the major aspects of our lives. We revere His holy name, we recognize His will on earth and heaven, we petition for our daily needs, we are contrite for our sins, we acknowledge our need to forgive, we recognize we need divine help to resist temptation, we ask for deliverance from evil, and we give praise for the kingdom, the power. and the glory, forever. The prayer closes with a doxology, a hymn of praise, that’s been added to Jesus’s prayer.

Our prayers expand and increase in depth as we grow in our spiritual lives. If we pray our hearts without caring what people think, we then become authentic in our prayers. Sad to say, we’re so worried about what people think when we pray out loud. Pray from the heart and forget what else is going on.

God loves the prayers and praises of the saints. We gather together in prayer naturally, immediately, and sincerely with bold hearts and tender thoughts. God enters our midst. His presence is known. We know He is with us.

My Anglican friend calls it the Our Father. Let’s stop a moment and pray The Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. They kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen

A Benediction

Amen

Ascribe to the Light.

No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden or under a bowl where you can’t see it and it would go out. Instead, they put the lamp on its stand, so that those who come into the room may see the light. Some of us like rooms full of light whereas others like dens and dark rooms. I prefer sunny rooms that cheer me up with their splashes of light.

Let’s think about light and us. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, you recognize the light. But when they are unhealthy, you wish for the light. Our lives absorb the light. It would be hard to be sightless.

A friend of mine whose husband is blind, said that when her husband was a boy his mother would close the curtains before leaving him home alone. He could sense the room’s darkness and wished she’d left the blinds open. I’m sure there’s truth in that. Light brings life.

“See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.” -Luke 11:35-36

The world would be dark but for the Savior’s light. His life is a Light that brings light to all humans who seek Him, and even those unaware of its light. “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Just think, our good deeds are like lights that shine the light of Jesus and glorify our Father in heaven to everyone we meet. Our lives matter, distinctly matter. The world would be a darker place without us.

Light beautifies, exposes, and enlightens. Light makes clear what was not clear before. God’s word explains how light in the spiritual realm works outwardly.

Attend to Jesus’ wise words.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:14-16

I didn’t know what I know now.

As a little girl I was given a white cross that glowed at night. To assure its glow, I had to leave it by a lamp that was turned on part of the night. I loved to look at the glowing cross while lying awake in my bed. It was a favorite companion of mine. I’d hold it under the covers where it was darkest and look at its bright light. That cross mesmerized me. It’s uncanny, but the cross of Jesus brought life to the world.

Our lives may seem to mean little in the grand scheme of things. But we are keepers of the light. Like a lighthouse on a stormy night, we shine the way to safety and show the dangers that lurk in the dark. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world.” He wasn’t kidding. Jesus’ light gives light to our steps. We, in turn, give our light to others. I love it how God uses us to light the way for someone else. It’s quite amazing, really. Jesus trusts us with His light.

I love candlelight. I almost always am given a candle for Christmas. Often on a sleepless night, I light a candle and pray or listen to music, or just sit in the quiet enjoying the ambience of the soft light. Thoughts come to me in the silence and peace chases away any unhappy thoughts. Jesus is with me.

Christ’s life is a light to the soul.

Another aspect to this is the light Christ brings to the soul. I can’t explain it well, but I have experienced this when I rest my soul in Him. I tap into that inner light. At times I sense the graciousness of God as I am ministered unto by His healing touch. I spend time repairing, soaking in His goodness, helping myself to His Light of Life. I need Him.

Christ strengthens us in our inner being when we are ‘still‘ before Him. Our soul is nurtured in His word in a very real sense. He does what we cannot do in our own strength. Oh, how we need Him. He fills us and supplies what we need in that particular moment of time.

We are the keepers of the light because we know the Great Supplier who gives light to our souls. Remember this when you are despairing or disheartened. God is a lighthouse to your soul. He is the Keeper of your soul. (Amen!)

Come to the Light.

• Come to the Light, ‘Tis shining for thee;
• Sweetly the light has dawned upon me;
• Once I was blind but now I can see:
• The Light of the world is Jesus!

-Philip P. Bliss, 1875