Prayer Changes Things
Sometimes prayer can seem like a passive activity that yields no fruit. And yet, in the right context and attitude, prayer can be powerful, for “[t]his is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14)
During my senior year of high school, my dad had an accident in the parking lot of a football game. There was no one around in the upper parking lot when doctors presume that his heart stopped beating just long enough that he fell straight back, hit his head, and was knocked unconscious. The first person who happened to find my dad bleeding in the parking lot was a pastor. He immediately alerted his prayer team, and within minutes, people across the valley were praying for a man they’d never met.
Doctors were talking of nursing homes and rehab centers during the next week and were truly amazed when my dad woke up in the hospital one day and knew who he was. He previously didn’t know who I was or what year it was. My dad had a remarkable recovery and was baptized for the first time just a few weeks after that.
I remember the dark time between that incident and the miracle. I realized what it meant to humble myself before the Lord. There is no time I feel closer to God than when I am suffering and come to Him in humble submission with words of prayer. “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” (Jeremiah 29:12)
There is a deep satisfaction and comfort in knowing that if I block out everything around me and raise my voice to the Holy Spirit, He will hear me. An important part of any relationship is communication. This should be no different with our Lord and Savior. We must keep the thread of communication alive with supplication, thanksgiving, praise, and continuous prayer. In these times, our hearts and minds are focusing on that which is above and less likely to be distracted by that which is below.
If we can come before the Lord with a pure heart and an open mind, it’s amazing how tangible God can feel. And if we’re in constant communication with God, the less invisible He feels – the more we can hear His words and see the path He has marked out.
If you have doubts, pray to God. If you have fears, pray to God. If you have temptations, pray to God. If you have good news, pray to God. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
There is a deep satisfaction and comfort in knowing that if I block out everything around me and raise my voice to the Holy Spirit, He will hear me.