Prayer is unlike
putting a nickel in a gum machine, twisting a handle, and then waiting for the
gum to pop out. Asking God for a yellow bicycle is similar to mailing a list of
Christmas wishes to the North Pole.
God is not Santa Claus and
treating God as if he were cheats us out of the treasured relationship we can
have with him.
Prayer is not a
numbers game. Notre Dame's football victory over Southern Methodist University
has nothing to do with who has the most people praying for success. Notre Dame
wins because their players are bigger, stronger, and faster. (Winning coaches
pray like God decides victories and they recruit like he doesn't.)
Faith has nothing
to do with answered prayer. Faith is the conviction of things unseen. Faith is
the assurance that a loving, personal God exists and because of that certainty
we strive to live a life that will be pleasing to him.
Can we receive
what we ask in prayer? Yes. But a relationship with God comes first. Prayer
allows us to develop a special bond with God that enables us to live the life he
desires for us.
As we gradually, progressively
develop a deep, abiding commitment to God we feel His presence in all that we
do. When we begin to pray as he wants us to pray, when we become aligned with
his will he begins to answer our prayers.
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