Have you ever wondered how or why prayer works? I do. I mean there are times I pray for someone to be healed and regain their health and they do. Yet there are other times I pray for someone to be healed and regain their health and they don't. To an outside observer it looks like one prayer was answered and one was not.
(You could also say God seems to answer prayers from Hawkeye fans as we knocked off the former #3 Penn State. While Iowa State's prayers have not been answered with a win lately.)
So then the question becomes, if one prayer is answered and the other is not, then what is the point of praying in the first place? Maybe God already had in mind to heal one person and not the other. Do my prayers really make a difference?
From the outside looking in I think these questions are normal and natural. However, my faith tells me there is more to prayer than just the outside appearance. First, I trust God knows what he is doing. I believe he is guided in all things by his love. Now I do not always agree with what I think he is doing, but I do trust he knows best. He is God and I am not.
Second, prayer is about more than getting answers. The value of prayer should not be found in the resulting answer of "yes," "no," or "wait." The value of prayer is found in the transformation it causes. When we spend time in prayer, God is transforming our hearts and minds. We are speaking to God and he is speaking with us and if we are open this will make us different. As we draw closer to the Lord through prayer he helps us take on more of his heart and mind.
So for me, this reminds me to continue in prayer because I do want to have more of the heart and mind of Christ living and working in me.
What has prayer taught you? Or what struggles do you have with prayer?
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