Thursday's In the Truth: Prayer

I was thinking about prayer today and how often we under value prayer.  We go to God and ask Him for something, but don’t believe He will actually answer our prayers.  Or maybe we don’t even ask, thinking it is too big or too small.  How often do we tell someone we will pray for them when they are going through a hard time, but never feel like it is enough?  We underestimate prayer. 

 In Acts 12, Peter is imprisoned.  As soon as Peter was placed in prison, the church earnestly prayed to God for him to be released.  While they were praying late into the night, an angel appeared to Peter and walked him right out of prison, opening all the doors needed to leave.  He walked straight to the house where people were praying.  “Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door.  When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”  “You’re out of your mind,” they told her.  When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”  But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.”  Acts 12:13-16

I laughed when I read this, but then I realized I do the same thing all the time.  I pray, asking God to answer my requests, and then don’t believe it when it happens.  These people were praying into the night, earnestly, yet they really didn’t believe there prayers would be answered.  If they had, they would have all run to the door when they heard Peter was standing there.  Or maybe, they believed it was possible, but it wasn’t answered the way they had thought it was going to be, so they didn’t believe it was really Peter at the door.  How often do we do the same thing?  We pray for an answer, but we expect it to happen exactly the way we want and when it doesn’t, we assume it has not been answered.  Or, we pray, but we don’t really believe God is going to answer our request.

Through out Scripture, we see all sorts of verses on prayer:

Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”  John 15:7

Jesus said, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  Matthew 21:22

Jesus said, “Everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  Matthew 7:8

God wants to be in communication with You.  He LOVES you and wants to bless you.  That does not mean He is going to give you everything you ask, but He will answer your requests, and it will always be in your best interest.  For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.  Jeremiah 29:11

Ask Him! 

So what do you need to take to God today?  What conversation do you need to have?  What request do you need to lay at his feet?  Don’t take prayer lightly.  God is longing to hear from you.