Just Keep Praying

Devotional Reading: And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 1 John 5:14 ESV

People often say, “God didn’t answer my prayer.” Actually, God does indeed answer every prayer we pray, “unanswered prayer is just a myth”. What God does sometimes is that He says, “Yes,” sometimes He says, “No” and other times He says, “Wait or not yet.” But, when we don’t get our prayers answered according to our desires, we assume that “He didn’t answer our prayer.”

This thought pattern tends to be very selfish and yet, if we are all honest, we have probably entertained this thought at some point in our lives. We asked God to do this good thing for us. When it didn’t happen, we found ourselves left with a bruised heart because we trusted God. And that’s just plain difficult to accept.

When we don’t get the answer we desire from God, instead of the first response being “Why did you let this happen?” let’s begin asking, “How are you going to use this?” Let’s change our “why” to “how.” Adjusting our view of God that shows Him as mean and withholding, to a God who wants the best for us will indeed change us from the inside out.

So, does prayer even work?

Well, if our definition of prayer is that we say a prayer and ask for God to grant us something that we are asking for and He doesn’t, then no, prayer doesn’t work. But, if we see prayer as having an ongoing, two-way conversation with God where we grow in our intimacy with Him, then yes, prayer does work. It all depends on our definition.

Someone once said, “When life is rough, pray. When life is great, pray.” And let’s remember that the objective of praying is not about sounding extra spiritual in a prayer meeting or acquiring every material possession we want. The objective is an intimate relationship with God.

So, let’s just keep praying—on the pretty days, on the ugly days, on the glorious days, and on the melancholy days. Because He’s always there; nearer to us than our breath.

Prayer and Confession
I choose to pray always irrespective of what I face good or bad.

Further Reading – Isaiah 40:8 Philippians 4:4-6