Prayer time

I often find it hard to keep a regular prayer time going. My intentions are good but my results are not. What results? Not God's results - He has moved in some mighty and amazing ways and I am awed on those times when my prayers have been part of the process. No, the result I most often miss is the part where I listen to hear back from God. It's so easy to go to him with my list of requests and problems and even the occasional demands but how often do I wait to hear what the answer might be?

Not as often as I should. If I talked to my family the way I talk to God sometimes, there's be major trouble at my house. Those relationships would eventually just fall apart.

So it's refresher time.

What is prayer? Prayer is just talking to God. But it's not supposed to be just talking AT God. It's a conversation. A favorite verse of mine is found in Jeremiah:

"Pray to me and I will answer you..." (Jeremiah 33:3a)

Pray to me? Got it. There will be an answer? Oh. So if I don't hear an answer, maybe it's because I didn't take the time to listen.

Sometimes, when people pray, the answer to prayer comes before the prayer is finished:

"Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out..." (Genesis 24:45)

Of course, I know that God's answer may take time to come. Or I may not recognize it as an answer - particularly if it isn't what I wanted. But how often do we miss the answer because we've just rushed our Amens and walked away? Take some time to wait for an answer. Or at least to give God some space in the conversation.

What else can I expect from prayer? How about knowledge? The verse from Jeremiah above goes on:

'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' (Jeremiah 33:3, emphasis mine)

Maybe a miracle?

"Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls..."
(Genesis 20:17)

"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!" The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." (Acts 16:25-31 - two miracles!)

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16

Maybe the assurance that God is listening:

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray." (James 5:13)

"He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea." (Psalm 102:17)

Maybe it's just about obedience.

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:18, emphasis mine)

"... in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6b)

There are so many reasons to pray. So let's make our conversation with God just that - two way communication - and see what He will do with, for, in and through us.

Martin Luther said, "As it is the business of tailors to make clothes, and of cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray."

Let's get to work.