Prayer Is About Relationship

"He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

When we’re focused on answers, we’re apt to get in a huff with God. “Don’t you care?” we rail at God.

But prayer is primarily about relationship, not answers. As we spend time with God, we get to know Him. “Prayer makes your heart bigger until it is capable of containing the gift of God himself,” writes Mother Teresa.

Remember Paul’s thorn in the flesh? Three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away, but instead, God gave him a growing experience. This seemingly unanswered prayer became an opportunity to trust God and to experience the power of Christ in his life.

I’m reminded of a little story I read recently. Once there was a man who asked God for a flower and a butterfly. But instead God gave him a cactus and a caterpillar. At first the man was upset, but then he decided to trust God anyway. After some time, the man went to check up on his request that he had left forgotten. To his surprise, from the thorny and ugly cactus a beautiful flower had grown. And the unsightly caterpillar had been transformed into the most beautiful butterfly. God always does what is right and good for his children.

Sometimes, God gives an overt miracle: a sick person recovers, we get the exact amount of money we need, a door opens which was tightly closed before. Other times, by withholding the answer, God gives us an opportunity to grow, to mature, to learn new things about His character.

Knowing God is the greatest answer to prayer. “The real miracle is God in us; God working through ordinary works and words,” writes Paul Tournier.

Father, I’ve come into your presence just to be with you. I want to know you at a deeper level. I want to trust you even when my prayers don’t seem to be answered for you always want the best for me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Questions: How is God answering your prayers? Why do you suppose God allows a miracle to happen to one but answers differently for another person?

Helen Leschied
Power to Change-WB Journal