To Pray... Is Everything

I believe in the power of prayer. I have seen amazing things happen, miraculous things happen when God's people pray. I believe in that power when my requests are granted... and I continue to believe in it even when His answers don't match up with mine.

Prayer is a privilege. It is an invitation into the throne room for an audience with the King of Kings, but unlike earthly royalty, our God requires no reservation. We can come to Him any time. His door is always open, His ear always tuned to hear us.

I have taken advantage of that open door policy often, yet, He never says to himself, "Here she is AGAIN with another request. No, He bids me come. He knows from the look on my face, the way I approach, just what this session is going to be about; and when I am so distressed that all I can do is lturn my tear-streaked face His way, He holds His arms out for me to run to Him and climb up into His lap.

He is a good, good Father. He cares. He listens. He hears.

I've lived long enough to understand that God's ways are always better than mine. In honesty, I still sometimes have trouble coming to terms with that, but I have learned to put my trust in the One who has been present in every yesterday, the One who has seen every tomorrow.

Prayer is also an opportunity to build a relationship with a God who is infinitely concerned with, and interested in, every detail of our lives. He wants to hear about our day. He delights in our successes. He cares about our struggles. No problem is too great, no detail insignificant.

So I come.

I come in heartbreak. I come in confusion. I come in rejoicing. I come in thanksgiving. He has seen it all with me, and He has seen me through it all.

I came in distress in 1987 with a mother's heart for her baby boy whose tiny liver was not functioning properly. I asked God to heal him. I pleaded with Him to make everything right. His answer was to wait. I didn't want to hear that. I demanded my own way. Patience was not one of my virtues, yet God was patient with me. He let me vent. He understood my angst, and He comforted my heart during that long waiting game.

I came again just two years later with a heart in anguish over my baby girl who entered this world long before she was ready. I cried at having to leave her every day in the hospital as I drove home. So many uncertainties. So many unknowns. I was in that kingly lap once again, baring my soul... and He offered consolation. "Be patient, my child," He said. "I love her as I love you."

Early on I found that sometimes God answers prayers with a "Wait," and though waiting is hard for us, God is not stagnant. He is on the move working amazing things in the lives of those situations we are praying for and in the life of our faith.

God is a good, good Father.

In 2006 and 2010 I learned that sometimes God says no to our requests.

There I sat. Each time in a stark room, beside a hospital bed. I held the hand of each of my parents as I prayed, oh, how I prayed, for God to give them a little more time. I hated watching them fade away, hovering between earth and heaven. I wasn't ready to let them go. My heart wanted what it wanted, and I argued with God, presenting my list of reasons why they should stay. God listened. He heard. He hugged my broken heart, but He still said, "No."

He has since taught me that all we have is a gift from Him, including our loved ones. They belonged to Him first, and He has a sovereign, loving right to call them home to Himself when He determines. He walked each of them home, not because He didn't dearly love me, but because He dearly loved them.

God cares. He hears, and He loves us too much to do anything but the best for us, even when we don't understand.

And...

Sometimes God says, "Yes!"

I was reminded of this just this week, in sooooo many ways! I believe God delights in "Yes"-es, as does any parent when we can joyfully and exuberantly answer in the affirmative.

In the past several days some wonderful things that had been in the "wait" category have moved on and up into the Yes-es. God doesn't mind our presistence. He welcomes it, even when we become impatient, because He knows His plan is good and meant to bring blessing into our lives.

All while we are waiting on the Lord, we are building that relationship. With every day, week, month, or year of waiting comes a strengthening of our faith, a strengthening of our reliance on and trust in Him. Waiting is not an idle activity... it has a beautiful purpose, to draw us closer to the One who loves us more than anyone else.

I'd like to share something here about how even the seemingly smallest of concerns are given great care when we bring them to the One who can do exceedingly more than we can ever hope or dream.

My daughter, Elizabeth, is taking grad school classes at Texas State University while also teaching high school English at Liberty Hill. When she started her master's, she was living in Austin, not a terribly long commute. However, now that she is at Liberty Hill, it's difficult to leave campus at 4:20 and make it in to San Marcos in time for class.

This year her school made a wonderful concession for her to have her conference period the last hour of the day, in order for her to be able to leave campus early when she has to make it to Texas State. Well, when she signed up for her spring semester class, one of the last couple she would need to graduate, she missed getting in by one spot. That wonderful last period concession might have gone to waste, so we prayed.

Not a big deal, some of you might say. Perhaps not to some, but it was to her, so pray we did.

She messaged me just a couple of days ago to tell me that a spot opened up. Someone had dropped the class, and she got in! Yay!! Thank you, God! You care about even the minutest details of our lives.

He is a good, good Father.

To pray... is everything. We are not alone in this great big world. The Bible tells us in Psalm 46:1 that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. The key word for me in this verse is "present." Always there. Always at the ready to listen. To hear. To help. To comfort. To strengthen. To heal. To forgive. To restore.

In prayer we meet God... and He meets us. He is a God who understands the desires of our heart. He is a God who grieves with us in our sorrow and who rejoices with us in our victories. In all things He is a good, good Father who is able, and who loves us enough to always listen...

and answer.