“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”-Matthew 21:22
Prayer. It’s at the heart of the Christian life. Perhaps more than anything it is the primary indicator of the health of the journey with Jesus. What you really think about God is revealed in your idea/understanding and practice of prayer.
How do you relate to these words: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Have you ever asked for something, believed, expected you would get it and been disappointed? How do you explain it?
If you have an easy answer I can assure you it’s probably wrong. There are no easy answers to the questions raised by the Biblical teaching about prayer. However, there are some clear certainties.
My then five year old grandson prayed this prayer at bedtime one night: “God, thank you that you blessed us with such a great day, and thank you that we are fortunate to have so many toys. Please help us to drop some money on the ground and a nice man to pick it up and get on a plane and go to Africa and drop it on the ground there so that the poor people can find it. Amen.”
Whether God had a man drop money on the ground for poor people to pick up or not I don’t know. But I do believe God answered that prayer in some way that made a difference. It was prayed by a little boy with a simple faith in God. Such prayers never go unanswered. It may be “no,” “wait,” “ok,” or “I’ve got a better way.” But God does answer.
Filed under: The Journey |
Discipleship at Messiah 