Friday, 29 May 2009

  • Would Your Answered Prayers Make a Significant Difference in Your Life?

    by icicle84

    Recently, I heard a message on prayer, and I won't lie. It was one of the most convicting messages I've heard in a while.

    The pastor, teaching on things Christians should not forget/neglect, spoke on the topic "Christians must not forget to pray for each other." The immediate reference in my mind was to Stephen Curtis Chapman's song "Let Us Pray."Here's the first verse, and what I thought would be the thrust of the message.

    I hear you say your heart is aching
    You've got trouble in the making
    And you ask if I'll be praying for you please
    And in keeping with convention
    I'll say yes with good intentions
    To pray later making mention of your needs
    But since we have this moment here at heaven's door
    We should start knocking now, what are we waiting for?

    If that had been the upshot of the message, I would have left probably with a resolution to pray more often, and that resolution may have lasted a week or two, only to be lost when I got caught up in life, distractions, trials or sin.

    I've always known I had a problem with praying for periods of time longer than it takes me to say grace or pray for the worship team before we take the stage.

    I've been able to somewhat remedy that by just offering up a short, silent prayer whenever I come across something I believe I should pray about. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, I think too few people pray like that. But lest I justify myself, I will admit I have been a failure when it comes to consistent, passionate prayer or intercession.

    I like to say I keep an "open line of communication" with God all day, and in a sense I do. But my frequent, usually one-sided conversing is like sending out a text message that says "Hey, what's up? I've got something for ya!" Compare that with a long telephone conversation or a face-to-face, sit-down talk.

    But back to the sermon.

    After his main points (which I don't recall clearly - see how good my memory is?), the pastor proceeded to ask us a question, and that question hit me hard.

    If tomorrow you woke up and all the prayers you had prayed today were answered, would your world be any different?

    Ouch.

    Up until that point that night, I could say that, despite a few passing thoughts I had thrown up God's way, the only significant change might be that my grandparents would be physically healed and spiritually saved.

    Significant, both of those. But on any given day lately, if you asked me that question, here's a list of how different my world would be.

    1) My food would be "blessed." (and I'm not sure how much blessing God even gives to a burger and fries, or a chicken sandwich)
    2) I would probably have a decent parking spot, but I don't usually pray for that, since there are usually enough decent spots at work to accommodate.
    3) Random people in my life would be "blessed," or "helped" though their specific needs wouldn't likely be taken care of.
    4) I might know a few more answers to a few more theological questions.
    5) A few things might be retroactively changed, for instance, if I prayed "God, I hope I didn't forget anything today, please don't let me have forgotten something important."

    To avoid rambling, I'll end with a question.

    How do you pray? How often do you pray? How deeply do you pray?

    If tomorrow you woke up and all the prayers you had prayed today were answered, would your world be any different?

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Comments (19)

  • leadworshipper82

    yea it would be different... many of my prayers have the underlying tone of God receiving glory... i would leave up for other people's personal interpretation... but if the things I would pray for were answered... my world would DEFINTELY be different most definitely...
  • mr_randyc@xanga

    What a good post.  It reminds us of the importance of prayer in our lives.  I will deffinately being thinking this though in my own life.
  • mycontinuity@xanga

    I feel bad if I pray too much; it's like I'm asking for more than what I should get.
  • prayerchangesthings

    Last night I prayed that my son's best friend's medical tests would turn out fine.  I also prayed that my son would do well on his math test the following day, since he has been struggling with math all year.  If those prayers were answered when I woke up in the morning, it would change my world.  I would no longer have to attempt to comfort a mother who has cried and been filled with grief over her son's potential illness.  It's not that I don't want to comfort her, it's just that my prayer was that she and her son, who are very much a part of my world, would not face any impending health issues.  As far as the math test goes, if my son did well, I could ease up on the angst I feel every time he says he's having a math test.  Prayers that are answered and involve others that you care about directly affect you.  My prayers often being with a sigh, and I know God can read my heart.  If today all my prayers were answered, I'd being doing a lot less sighing.  Remember, PRAYER CHANGES THINGS!
  • Theophilus166@xanga

    Great question.
  • princess1505angel@xanga

    GREAT post.  I still think it's important to take the "little" things to Him in prayer too, but it's easy to get lazy and, as you said, say thing like "bless/help so and so" and not be specific.  If you don't know what the need then that works because God does know, but if you know, be specific.
    I had bigger prayers in college and I only remember because I kept a prayer journal.  It was crazy to watch the big things get answered!
  • deepestrecesses

    Yes- and they are.

  • Pcgecko85@xanga

    Many more people would be dead.
  • StepHyKu2517___v3v@xanga

    recommend
  • LoBornlyte@xanga

    The Catholic way of prayer includes prayers of blessing, praise, thanksgiving, intercession and petition.


    Four out of the five types of prayer concern others, including God.  Only prayers of petition direct God's attention to one's own self.


    The official prayer of the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours, contains all forms of prayer most of which are taken directly from Scripture.  It is one of many of the spiritual treasures preserved and taught by the Church.


    Christian action is meant to extend the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.  Christian prayer changes the entire world.
  • youRloved
    set apart from the pack...

    If all of my prayers were answered, everything would be different. I pray daily. The topics cover a broad spectrum. If my prayers were answered, here's what would happen:

    There would be world peace
    Hunger would be eradicated
    Cancer would be cured
    All of those that are slaves to addiction would be freed
    Everyone would do business in an honest fashion
    Our veterans would be treated like royalty
    Decency and courtesy would again be priorities
    Domestic violence and abuse would be gone
    No child would ever be harmed by an adult
    Every child would have a loving home
    There would be no victims
    Every porn star would quit the skin biz
    My X wife would actually forgive me and not just tell me she has
    My brother would quote The Bible he reads every day
    My brother and sister would say, "I love you."
    There's a hundred other things I think about and pray about. But this would be a good start.

  • LadyLibellule@xanga

    I don't really pray, per se, but if my wishes were suddenly granted, then my world would be vastly different.
  • gene546@xanga
    As the water and food necessary to sustain our corporal life; so as too, prayer is the food to sustain or spirit alive. Gene546
  • deltadom@xanga

    The answer is yes! if it is according to gods will
    DOm
  • chira_hora@xanga

    One of my prayers is that in my lifetime, North and South Korea will be reunited. I prayed it today. I hope it happens. If that happens, a whole lotta stuff in Asia would change drastically, methinks!!! Good idea is to pray through some of the problems mentioned in the newspaper.

  • chira_hora@xanga

    I mean N. Korea to become a righteous God-fearing nation... maybe a long time for that to happen, but you never know what is on God's timetable.

  • xje_veux_etre_joliex@xanga

    I'm not a religious person, but this is a very thoughtful post.
    If my prayers (or wishes) came true, I'm sure there would be a difference but I can't tell how extreme it would be.
  • ieatworksleep@xanga

    yess definitely, if my prayers are answered, then it strengthens my faith and that I truly know there is really a God listening to my prayers. I would then use this testimony to be a blessing to others and this way, bringing more people to Christ.

    and if things were to go the way that I pray for, then the whole world will be changed dramatically. If I pray for more love and compassion in people's hearts, cheese this world will definitely be transformed.

    But still, it's not so important to want God to answer your prayers, because what God wants for us may be through things that defy our prayers- which at the end of the day is His very own plan for us. And since we know that God has already mapped out the path of us in our lives, we should have faith in that.
  • xsteph_ox@xanga

    @youRloved - Good list!

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