Prayer & Results

I am going to ask a question that millions upon millions of people wonder about each day of their lives:

"What is the deal with prayer?"

Every religion has 'prayer' or 'time of meditation' as a facet of belief and practice; yet, we do not fully understand what we are doing or what is happening except to say that we are communicating with God Himself.

Let me say this before I miscommunicate truth; there is only ONE faith which leads to God - the Christian Faith.
There is only ONE Savior of humanity: Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.
And the believer's destiny is simple: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

As far as prayer goes, it is simple; while remaining complex.
A child understands it; yet, the greatest theological mind cannot decipher prayers' depths.
Personally, I've always wondered was Jesus actually talking to Himself when He prayed, since He boldly stated the fact, 'I and My Father are One.'

Then there is the issue of 'how long are we to pray?'
Some can spend hours upon hours in prayer, gaining callouses on their knees and fervency in their spirit.
Others pray quietly, simply, even directly...so much so that it may seem they hardly pray at all in what might be described as the normal or usual 'format.'
Then there are those who are like me → I rarely spend hours in prayer, but rarely does an hour go by without communicating with God in prayer.

Prayer is not so simple after all.

Without question, without hesitation, without reservation, I KNOW I was healed by God, largely due to the power of the prayers of the faithful.
But I also know that there are millions of people who have even more people praying for them in their life-threatening situations; yet, they won't be healed or delivered.
Knowing this, it begs a question concerning the 'answering' of prayers and how prayer works.

Does prayer influence God's decision?
If I pray enough to I gain favor?
Since faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain, does that mean I have little faith in prayer because I've never moved a mountain?

The truth is that anybody who has been a Christian very long knows what it is like to have a prayer that goes unanswered.
Yet, the Christian will rarely back down when confronted with a prayer not being answered; we tend to be very faithful and loyal to believing in the power of prayer.
Interestingly, though we believe in prayer, most Christians don't engage in it regularly and certainly, none of us do the same way.

Though Christians do have their issues and disagreements concerning prayer, I do wonder if any of us understand what is actually taking place.

In reading a recent book, I came across some great thoughts and images concerning prayer:

George Muller, the great compassionate man who cared for more than 10,000 of Britain's orphans began each day passionately pleading with God to meet the astronomical needs of the orphanage he oversaw.

Bishop Lancelot Andrews (Church of England) would spend 5 hours every day in prayer.

Charles Simeon, we are told, rose each day at 0400 to begin a 4-hour regimen in prayer. 
At this, most modern Christians would joke, 'Do you know what the '0' stands for in '0400?' 
'O' my God it's early!'

The Sleepless Ones, is a unique name for a group of nuns in a particular order who pray in shifts so that every minute of every 24-hour period so that there is constant prayer taking place.

The legendary Susanna Wesley had a brood of children giving her little peace or quiet. So, she did what any good mother would do, throwing her apron over her head, gaining privacy, and began to pray for them all.

The great Martin Luther would pray between 2 and 3 hours daily.
Luther truly believed that Christians ought to be able to pray as naturally as a cobbler makes a shoe.

Truly, these are some of the bulwarks of the faith, but what of the average man or woman sitting in the church pew? How often do they pray?

Well, the truth of the matter is that it matters little whether you are behind the pulpit or in the pew with the congregation, the average for Christians in prayer is about 10 minutes a day.
And while this is better than not praying at all, it hardly seems right that an average person will spend more time in the bathroom on a daily basis than they do talking with God.

In fact, most Christians tend to look at prayer as more of a burden than they do a joy or a privilege.

And how people pray publicly is another story altogether.

Among Baptists and other evangelicals like Pentecostals, when I hear their prayers to the Lord, sometimes it sounds more like them telling what God ought to do or how others in the congregation ought to behave and believe.
In more moderate to liberal churches, I've heard prayers become more like a call to action against society.
Neither of these are Biblically accurate.

Technology and Science has added to the confusion and doubt concerning prayer.
Truly, technological advancements and scientific discovers has tainted those with a weaker faith in the fact that some could not reconcile the two within their own brains; one must give way and rarely does one ignore scientific achievement because it is evident and can be touched in a way that God cannot.

In the old days, man would bare his heart before God if there was an issue or concern in his life.
Today, we have rehab centers and support groups to encourage us and show us sympathy; all taking the place of where the church once was the only reality of help.

But the actual question of prayer is this: Does it do any good?
And the follow-up is much like it: If God does really care and prayer works, is He listening and when is He going to act?

All of these things are very confusing and try our sensibilities when what we have asked for of God is not the reality on earth.

Bottom Line: If Prayer is anything at all, it is the place where man and God meet.

Philip Yancey pointed out that there are two things that trouble Christians when it comes to prayer:
- Why God doesn't act the way we want Him to act.
- Why we don't act the way God wants us to act.

Friend, prayer is the place where these two issues meet.

You see, in prayer God is not conformed to our will; but our will is conformed to God's will. 
Therefore, we begin to understand why God doesn't do the things we always desire of Him; more likely than not, we soon begin to understand our failure in serving God on earth the way He desires, becoming more like His Son in the process through the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the repentance of the heart.

When these things happen on a personal level, on a spiritual level something else begins to happen: We begin to see HOW God answers the prayers we have offered to Him.
It is in that moment of repentance and confession that spiritual growth takes place.
As spiritual growth takes place, our blinders and clouded vision of the world is removed.

Then, and only then, do we begin to see as God sees - with the eye of faith.

Yes, prayer is confusing and Christians do not fully understand what is taking place.
Yes, prayer is the place where we meet God in a spiritual communion; a communion where we begin to change to become more like Christ.
And yes, prayers are answered every day; we just can't always see them because the eye of faith sometimes gets cloudy...they only way to remove that cloud is through prayer.

Friend, if you ever doubt that, just go back to the very first blog I ever wrote; you'll see the reason why this blog is called, 'Cancer with Christ' and hear the story of a man whose life was saved by the healing power of God as thousands of people around the world began to unite their hearts one to another in the mystical and spiritual act of prayer.

Until next time, win one for the good guys.