Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Does it work?

Have you ever prayed for something over and over and it doesn't happen? Have you ever just gotten discouraged because the answer may not be the one you are looking for?
Sometimes, I just don't understand why I go through such a dry spell, not a prayer answered for what seems like forever.
I have prayed for things lately that I wonder if God hears me. I know He does and I want to believe the things I pray are in His will but I am not God.
God is God and I am not that is just the way it is!
I believe in prayer. I believe God hears every one of them. I believe He will answer but it will be in His time.
I prayed for my sister to get better, God had a different plan and it was obviously not the same as mine. Now, here I am still trying to figure out why and how to face tomorrow because it is no easier today than on that day.
I prayed for friends. I have prayed for family. I have prayed for healing. I have prayed for hope. I have prayed for strength. I have prayed for peace. I have prayed for understanding.
God has heard every prayer. He has held every tear. Some day, it will all make sense. Some day, I will see Mandy, my little brother, my grandparents, and anyone else I have lost. Then, it will all make sense.
God answered a prayer for a friend today.
So...
Does it work?
Yes, it does!
Is the timing right?
Yes, it is!
Was it the answer I wanted?
Yes, it was!
Is it always?
No, it is not!
I thank God for being God. For doing the things that I can not do. For holding me up when I fall. For giving me hope when I am hopeless.
Prayer works just believe!

1 comment:

Cassie said...

I was sent this letter when I was having a hard time wondering why my prayers were not being answered. It helped me. I love you my friend.


I think part of my struggle right now is just understanding God’s role in our lives. It is not that I doubt his existence, but that I am troubled in knowing how to pray on a going forward basis. I prayed so hard, so diligently and so fervently, for Lydia’s healing, and I know many, many more people did as well, that it is hard to understand the role of prayer in our lives. I often wonder why we bother to ask for specific things or results, when it seems that it is out of our hands, and that every prayer we ask for, even when it is to spare someone from death, might not be answered as we have so fervently asked. I think about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and what her prayers must have been as she watched him suffer and die. As a mother, I know she must have prayed and begged for his life…yet, even Mary’s prayer was not answered as she might have wished.
Perhaps the role of prayer is not for God to grant a prayer just as we might wish, for He knows better than we do why something we might ask for might not be in our best interests. If God had granted Mary’s prayer, and spared Jesus’ earthly life, then for the sake of granting one prayer, none of us could enjoy eternal life. God knows our heart, even when we don’t ask, but perhaps it is good for God to hear us ask, for us to affirm our heart before Him, and perhaps our final prayer for anything should be for God to be present in all situations, for that presence to be felt, and for wisdom, peace and acceptance of His will. I am praying for that wisdom, peace and acceptance for myself, and for all around me grieving the loss of a loved one. – In peace.