Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Does God give you everything you pray for? In John 16 Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in my name, my Father will give you ” (v. 23).
Eight years ago, my first podcast was, “The Problem Jesus Created for People Who Pray.” My problem? Jesus promised whatever I asked for, but that didn’t work, so why bother praying?
Think about it. There are two ways to pray. The first is with a shopping list. God has everything. I don’t have much, so when I pray, I read him my shopping list and head for the check-out counter.
That’s a transaction-driven prayer life. Measured by tangible results and by stuff God gives me. Sometimes God answers my shopping list prayers. Usually, not so much.
Another way of praying doesn’t ask, “What do I want God to give me?” but “How can I spend time with God?” That sees prayer as a relationship, not a transaction.
A friend had a leg operation, followed by six weeks at home with her leg in a cast. “I’m looking forward to an extended time of intimate fellowship with God.,” she told me.
I visited after three weeks to see how she and God were doing. The operation had gone well, the cast was fine, and she was getting better. But life with God? Not so good. She hadn’t found much time for God. And when she did, she didn’t experience the quiet, rewarding intimacy she anticipated.
I sipped her tea and didn’t offer advice.
In my experience, it’s difficult to have a satisfying relationship with God. When I show up to pray, he seldom shows up at all. Maybe he has a different schedule or maybe has different ideas than I do about how our relationship should work.
Author Henri Nouwen said, “Why should I spend an hour in prayer when I do nothing but think about people I am angry with, people who are angry with me, books I should read, books I should write, and thousands of other silly things that happen to grab my mind for a moment?” (The Road to Daybreak, (New York: Image Books, 1989), p. 29).
My problem exactly.
Nouwen’s answer? “I might think that each hour is useless, but after thirty or sixty or ninety such useless hours, I gradually realize that I was not as alone as I thought; a very small gentle voice has been speaking to me far beyond my noisy place” (ibid., p. 30).
Let’s pray.
O Father, Jesus promised you would give us whatever we ask in his name. But you don’t. When I need comfort, you are distant. When I want intimacy, you are absent. When I need support and encouragement, you are silent.
So why do I pray, and what can I make of Jesus’ black and white promise?
I pray because I believe you listen.
I pray because I need to hear your voice.
I pray because you have answers, even if I can’t hear them yet.
Take my prayers, born in anxiety, marred by distractions, afflicted with impatience.
Be with me in my useless hours of prayer. Hold me in your arms. Turn my restless thoughts to you. Hear the prayers I cannot pray.
Thank you that you live in me, and that I live in you. Help me grow in our life together.
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube.
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