A Prescription for Prayer

Prayer is an unnatural activity. From birth we have been learning the rules of self-reliance as we strain and struggle to achieve self-sufficiency. Prayer flies in the face of those deep-seated values. It is an assault on human autonomy, an indictment of independent living. For people convinced that they can make it on their own, prayer is an embarrassing interruption.

Prayer is alien to our proud human nature. And yet somewhere, someplace, probably all of us reach the point of fixing our attention on God and praying. In spite of the foreignness of the activity, we pray. We pray because, by intuition or experience, we understand that the intimate communion with God comes through prayer. Ask people who have faced tragedy or trial, heartbreak or grief, failure or defeat, loneliness or discrimination. Ask what happened in their souls when they poured out their hearts to the Lord.

People will say, “I can’t explain it, but I felt like God understood me.” Others have said, “I felt surrounded by His presence.” Or, “I felt a comfort and peace I’d never felt before.” That is why the apostle Paul wrote the above verse of scripture because he knew from experience. Then he ends it this way, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

God’s power can change circumstances and relationships. It can help us face life’s daily struggles. His supernatural strength is available to praying people who are convinced that He can make a difference. Someone has said that when we work, we work; but when we pray, God works. An English archbishop once observed, “It’s amazing how many coincidences occur when one begins to pray.” I encourage you to take your prescription for prayer.

Go with God!
Pastor Qualley