We lead a prayer ministry at our church. So I feel like I think about prayer fairly
often. But this week the morning show I
listen to (The Walley Show) was talking about prayer, specifically about when
prayers are unanswered or answered in a way that we weren’t really hoping for
or expecting. They had many examples of
how these unanswered prayers lead to bigger things that they just couldn’t
see. Which I agree happens often, but
not always. Recently I’ve also watched a
relatively new believer blossom into a beautiful example of Christian boldness
emboldened by the Holy Spirit. We also have come to realize that many struggle
to attend our prayer gathering because of a fear of praying a loud, or a fear
of praying wrong. I’ve watched Christians grapple with this concept of
corporate prayer and have been moved and touched by the words that they
themselves feel fall short. So I’ve been thinking a lot more about prayer this
week.
Prayer is indeed mysterious.
To me, prayer has always seemed simple on so many levels. I grew up
Catholic and my youthful prayers were either repetitive rote memorization or
easy flowing conversations (many times one sided conversations) with God. It was a lot of asking, a little thinking,
and many times it felt desperate. As
I’ve grown as a Christian, delved deeper into the Word, and walked through spiritual
battles, my concept of prayer has definitely evolved. It is far from
simple. But in many ways, it is still
very mysterious- and there are many things I don’t understand.
