Prayer - such a powerful and misunderstood tool. I think of times in my life that have been without prayer, times in my life that have had "obligatory" prayers (such as those said before a meal, etc.), and times of fervent prayer. Sometimes prayer is a talk with God...to grow the relationship. Other times, it is a petition (asking for needs pertaining to one's self) and other times an intercession (praying on behalf of others). There are prayers of thanksgiving and praise. There are prayers of repentance and forgivness. With so many different ways to pray...how is it that I spent so little time praying in my lifetime?
But, this is not the case anymore. I have made a committment to pray without ceasing. I choose to live each day in a constant awareness of the needs and blessings around me. Because of this, I appreciated today's devotion regarding the perseverance of prayer. How important it is to continue to work at it. We ask in faith and we keep asking until we are answered. We ask and keep asking irregardless of how long delayed the answer is in coming. We pray with hope. God does not leave prayer unanswered.
The first paragraph says "He will reveal Himself to our seeking hearts, but not just when and where we have settled in our own expectations." This reminded me of an exercise Rob and I did for a homework assignment in a pre-adoption course. We were to wright down our expectations for the adoption, about the child, appearances, behaviors, difficulties, etc. The purpose was to evaluate how we would respond if our expectations were not met. For instance, if I expected a healthy child and was handed a sick, lethargic baby...how would I react. If we were expecting a baby/infant and were assigned a toddler...what then? This exercise was in many ways easier for Rob and I than the others in the class because of our faith and understanding of God's providence.
We must pray with God's expectations in mind and not our own. We must recognize His will and not our own. He must increase, we must decrease.
"Remember the former things of old, for I AM God, and there is no other; I AM God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, "My council shall stand, and I will do my pleasure." --Is. 46:9-10
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