All of us who have been following Christ for any amount of time have experienced answered prayer. Not suprising. After all, there are NUMEROUS promises in the Bible that God answers prayer! But we have also prayed many prayers that have remained unanswered. Why so? If Jesus tells us to ask anything in his name and it will be granted to us - then why when I ask for something in his name - why don't I always get what I ask for? Sometimes, the answer to this might be clear. It may be because I ask selfishly. Or I might ask for something that is clearly outside of God's will and plan for me. But what about all those other times that I ask for things that would seem to be in accord with God's will? Hmm. . .This year as part of my spiritual journey, I decided to concentrate on this spiritual discipline of prayer. One way I am doing this is by reading through a couple of key books on prayer, one of which is Philip Yancey's recently published book, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? In his book, he deals with this "problem" of unanswered prayer. His conclusion is worth noting. He writes, "The only final solution to unanswered prayer is Paul's explanation to to the Corinthians: 'For now we see through a glass darkly; then but face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.' No human being, no matter how wise or how spiritual, can interpret the ways of God, explain why one miracle and not another, why an apparent intervention her and not there. Along with the apostle Paul, we can only wait, and trust." (Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? - p. 247)
Will you join me as together we pray - and then wait and trust?
Thanks for listening,
pj
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