More than a simple wish list

As a Christian you learn pretty early on the significance of prayer. It doesnt take much to quickly realise how important it is since its how we basically communicate with our heavenly father. When we have concerns, worries or fears, we bring those before God through prayer. When we are grateful for something that has come to pass, we come to God and give Him praise.

But what about those things that we have been praying for over a long period, where we arent seeing any real process...how does this impact upon our prayer lives? Do we continue to pray with the same passion? Or do we begin to lose the belief that the Lord is listening to our prayers? Maybe to you, its a simple prayer, but despite bringing you desire before the Lord time and time again...you see your situation heading in the wrong direction. Its in these situations that prayer can be the most difficult, for its a real test of your faith and belief in Gods power in your life.

Recently I have really had my faith tested, my prayers have gone largely unanswered and I have felt quite lost. I have prayed earnestly for God to work in my situations, to see a breakthrough occur...but I felt that I was going no where and my prayers were falling on deaf ears. I know that sounds really bad, to say that my prayers were falling on deaf ears, and maybe thats not the best way to describe it. But to put it simply, I just couldnt understand why things were so difficult, why my prayers were not being answered.

One thing is certain all along though...I ultimately always trust that God has my best interests at heart. Its just that my emotions sometimes get the better of me...for its in this time that I need to battle how I feel and hold onto Gods promises...and continually pray.

But for people who are unfamiliar with prayer, what exactly happens when you pray? What are you actually doing when you speak one on one with God?

When you pray, you surrender your will to God
By nature we all have our own opinions and answers to the problems of the world. Whether it be when you are sitting at the football or reading the newspaper, you will formulate your ideas and opinions on what confronts you and most like verbalize them. In the Bible, we see that Jesus was no different. When He was faced with difficult circumstances, He had his own agenda and desired outcomes. This is evident when we read Luke 22:42 and hear His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus prayed that the trials He was about to face would be taken from Him, that He wouldnt have to suffer the pain and humiliation of the cross. But He also prayed that the Lord's will be done first and foremost. I know that for myself, there are times in my life where I get too emotional as the result of a situation. This can ultimately mean that I dont get to see what God had in store. We have to learn to not get caught up in the minute, for we may miss the miracle! We all have desires and wants, but when we pray, we are putting the focus on what God desires, no matter how different this is from what we have in mind.

I think its fair to say that in most situations, when we pray, there is something we want to change. We are asking God to change things, whether it be providing us something we lack or taking away something we distaste. But as we see in the scripture and the resultant circumstances, nothing changed. The cross still occurred. But who wishes that this hadnt been the case? Is there anyone who would have wanted God to grant Jesus prayer, knowing what was to come?

When we pray, we want God to make a change, but its actually God that wants us to change. There will be times when you dont think you can press on in your current situation, but as we see Jesus, He also didnt think He could do it. But God was with Him along the entire journey, strengthening Him which lead to the most amazing event in the history of the world! This is highlighted in the following verse, Luke 22:43 -

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

I hope this doesnt lead you think you shouldnt pray for what is on your heart, for this is what we should be bringing before the Lord. But prayer is more than just bringing forward our wish list, we must also pray for God's purpose in our lives, for it to be made clear and that we have the strength, wisdom and ability to carry it out. We must not be downhearted when our prayers are not answered, but trust God wholeheartedly and remember that He loves us more than anything, for He sent His only son to die for us...His only son who prayed that He could be relieved of this duty. This is such an unexplainably powerful act and just begins to demonstrate God's love for us. So I encourage you to take the time to pray, for its in this time that we have a connection with our heavenly Father

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

(Phillipians 4:6)