Even after all these years of following the Lord, I will admit that prayer is still a mystery. Maybe you have it all figured out, but I confess I don’t.
There are times when I pray for something important, and I don’t see any results as far as I can tell. On other occasions, my requests are more superficial, and the answer is clear and even supernatural. I sometimes pray for hours, days, or years, and I’m still waiting for God to act. Then I pray for something once, and barely for a minute at that, and God’s reply comes barreling down, knocking me off my feet. What’s up with that?
I’ve been recently reminded of an incident that happened several years ago. It was pretty minor in the grand scheme of things but proved that God answers prayer in even more detail than we ask. One day the electricity in most of the outlets in my apartment suddenly stopped working. This went on for over a week, and for various reasons, no one could help me. Not knowing where to turn, I started praying that God would send me a good electrician. In all honesty, I had in mind a scenario where the Lord would lead me to the right person, but God took my words quite literally.
The following Monday morning, there was a knock at my door. When I opened it, guess who was standing there in front of me? Yes, that’s right, an electrician! What’s more, he even had with him all the necessary tools … and a ladder! He wanted me to unlock the door to the garbage chute, but once I recovered from my shock, I asked him if he could check out my problem. He did and repaired it, even going to buy the necessary part.
Some may argue that it was pure coincidence, but I don’t believe so. There were many other apartments he could have knocked at, or I could have been out. If he hadn’t had a ladder with him, he wouldn’t have been able to help, as the fuse box was located just below the ceiling. All the circumstances combined to provide one clear example of answered prayer.
Frankly, I don’t think that prayer being a mystery is a bad thing. Why do I say so? Because prayer is based on our relationship with God, and healthy relationships are not to be controlled nor manipulated, neither are they entirely predictable. If I understood everything there is to know about prayer, then that means I understand everything about the Lord. But how can a human mind fully comprehend the divine?
The many encouragements in the Bible to pray and not give up are a clear sign that God recognizes our confusion and doubt on the matter. It’s okay not to have it all figured out. But as the Apostle Paul writes, let’s pray in all circumstances, assured that God hears us, and let’s never give up.
Picture: Carol Schlorff