Tag: communication with God

Why Prayer Doesn’t Work

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

I know that you are reading the title and thinking, “Okay. Now her brain is going bonkers because I was sure she believed in prayer.” Why, yes, I do. That is why I was pleasantly surprised to find an email this morning from an author named Heather Taber. She is new to me, but based on her philosophy about prayer, I know that I would enjoy her books since her thoughts are refreshingly honest.

Here is the link to her substack post about prayer:

https://open.substack.com/pub/heathertabers/p/why-prayer-doesnt-work?selection=d3f6090e-23f0-4d80-99c1-0b92c48a9304&r=8f2gn&utm_medium=ios

Pondering her conclusions, I decided that she is right. Prayer doesn’t work because it isn’t meant to “work.” It is a conversation with God, not a way for me to talk God into doing exactly what I want when I want it. Once the relationship with God is established, then my will becomes more aligned with His and my prayers become what they are meant to be, a way to tell my Father what is going on in my life and to ask for His help in solving problems. Read the post from Heather and let me know what you think. Honestly, I had never thought of it this way. I have often said to myself and others that God is not a genie in a bottle that we take out and talk to when we feel desperate or have lost hope in everything else. Heather says things in a way that is understandable and that I could definitely relate to.

Having said that, let me tell you about another answered prayer. I had my MRI on my back yesterday. I was understandably nervous since I knew I had to lie down in a supine position and was told that the test could take up to an hour. An hour in what I call the thumping machine? Well, we went to the afternoon service at church (with our daughter and granddaughters, which was a real blessing) and then Harry and I headed to the hospital for my MRI. The technicians could not have been more compassionate or caring. From the time they loaded me into the wheelchair in the ER to take me to the MRI suite, they treated me as valuable and worth their time, even though it was Easter and they were not with loved ones. The test itself was the easiest one I have ever undergone. I went into the machine feet first, so the usual claustrophobic feeling wasn’t there since my head was barely in the tube. The test only took about fifteen minutes and done! I had prayed for nice technicians…answered. I had prayed that I wouldn’t be claustrophobic and panic in the machine for so long…answered times two since the test was much shorter than expected. And I had prayed that I would feel God close beside me as I was tested. We sang a song in church right before we went to the hospital and the chorus was “The Lord is with me.” I kept singing that to myself in the chamber…answer number three in a totally unexpected way. God has a way of surprising us with answers that we didn’t expect at all. I am not sure what I expected but answers were not it. I was just kind of “along for the ride” and hoping that God was driving. He heard and He answered; after all, the most important part of prayer is establishing a relationship before you really, really need an answer, right?

I hope that my testimony has stimulated your faith to ask for the small things and then expect them to happen, in God’s way and in His timing. God will surprise you with His great love for you and His desire that you trust Him.

One of my memory verses this month and one I turn to often for reassurance. It was also one that I was quoting to myself in the MRI tube. I call it “hiding God’s word in my heart.”

Prayer is Vital

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

Do you know what that word “vital” means? It comes from the root word for life, and prayer is vital for our life with God. How do you have a relationship with someone that you never talk to? If the only time I talked to my husband were to give him a list of things I needed him to buy for me or do for me, that would be a very poor basis for a relationship indeed! Yet we don’t hesitate to wake up in the morning, read the Bible and then give God a “laundry list” of our expectations for Him. What if we took time to “be watchful,” to just observe what is going on in our small part of the world and then extend that watchfulness out to what is happening in your state, your nation the world. Instead of a laundry list of wants, I think watchfulness results in a prayer that speaks back to God from His heart’s desire for us and for others. Yes, the times are troubling, but God isn’t asleep. He is listening for His people to pray according to His will. He is working out His plan for the world and we can be a part of that plan by joining in prayer with God. We need to talk WITH God, not to Him. We need to be willing to listen as we watch and hear the heart of God for the hurting people of the world. We need to take time to be thankful for all God has done and is doing, knowing that somehow He is working things out for the good of all mankind. Prayer changes things, but only if we participate in an active prayer life, communicating with God as though He really cares. Because He does.

A Life of Prayer

Take a moment to think about the habit of prayer in your life. Is prayer a regular part of your life, or is it something you don’t really pay attention to?

As Paul is closing out his letter to the church in Colossae, one of the things he reminds them of is the importance of prayer. For Paul, prayer is more than just asking God for what he needs. Prayer is the way Paul’s energy and ministry is sustained. Prayer is a source of God’s power for Paul.

He asks the Colossians not only to engage in prayer, but to be devoted to it. Paul understood that if the mission of God was to be effective through them, they needed to be devoted to talking to God about every aspect of life.

This means they not only needed to spend time in prayer for a few minutes in the morning, but they needed to make prayer a part of their entire day.

Paul tells the church to be devoted to prayer, being watchful and thankful. These are two aspects of prayer that we can engage in as well.

The first is being watchful or discerning of what’s happening in your life. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us discern what God is doing in and around us, to make us aware of His work. Second, we can use our time in prayer to worship God through thanksgiving and gratitude.

Prayer is a vital aspect of the Christian life. Spend some time not only praying to God, but thinking through how you can make prayer a central part of your spiritual life.