Frustrated With Prayer?
Prayer doesn’t seem to work for me. How about you? I watch people on television give their testimony about how they prayed and suddenly the very thing that they most desired was given to them in a surprising way. But that has not been my experience.
Is prayer such a great thing even if it doesn’t seem to work for us? People we love are still sick. Our finances remain in a mess. Our kids still haven’t turned back to God. Prayer doesn’t seem to work sometimes…most of the time.
To tell you the truth, prayer isn’t supposed to work. God is not on His throne waiting for us to send up His next work order. When we recognize that God is in control and it is His will that we seek, not our own, then prayer begins to take on a new dimension.
Talk to God about it.
Old hurts. Regrets. Heartaches. Bad habits. Confusion about what to do with problems we face in life. Most will admit that it helps to talk. Sometimes we pay counselors to listen to us. Sometimes we write our thoughts in journals. Sometimes the best talks are shared over a hot cup of coffee in a neutral place. It is not always easy to find someone who is willing to listen. Listening is hard work! Not everyone does it well. Except one person I know…
It is always good to talk to Jesus about your struggles. One thing I like about talking to Jesus is that I can’t surprise Him. He’ll never look at me with big eyes and say, “I can’t believe it” or “I thought you were a better person than that”.
No matter what I tell Him, He already knows. And He is still there to listen. Jesus loves sinners.
You can’t mess it up.
Prayer is powerful but not because you are praying. How many of us believe that our prayers are not answered because we said something in the wrong order or didn’t use the right words?
One of the dangers of repetitious prayers is that we hope that if we say just the right amount of prayers in just the right combination we will receive the blessing we desire.
I wonder sometimes if Jesus sighs and wonders why we won’t just talk to Him.
I want to encourage you to talk to Jesus just like you talk to your best friend.
You can tell Him anything. He’s not so far away, you know.
Why don’t you talk to him now about that burden you’ve been carrying?
John Dobbs
