Today’s Devotional: Have You Ever Wanted to Give Up on Prayer?
In Our Daily Journey, Regina Franklin writes about a time in her life in which she almost gave up on prayer. Exasperated after a series of seemingly unanswered petitions to God, she asked aloud, “Why bother praying?” Her husband answered, “Because God says so.” Regina concludes that she had let her circumstances govern her faith, rather than letting her faith lead her to “a deeper understanding of prayer”:
Telling them of the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8), Jesus admonished His disciples to be persistent in prayer. Interestingly enough, He ends His lesson by saying, “But when the Son of Man, returns, how many will He find who have faith?” (v.8). Countless times I have allowed the outcome to determine my level of faith, rather than letting my faith lead me to a deeper understanding of prayer.
Unable to escape circumstances, we allow them to blind us, and—subsequently—we lose sight of the battle. Daniel, however, submitted to God’s will. In doing so, he refused to be moved from his declaration of faith in the power of God. He knew God would answer (Daniel 10:12-19). In 2 Corinthians 5:7 we read, “We live by believing and not by seeing.” Imagine the turn of events if Daniel had given up when the answer was delayed!
Read the rest at Our Daily Journey.
Have you ever found yourself asking the question “Why bother praying?” What was the answer you found?
Sometimes it seems to me that your feelings about prayer are based on your theology.
Without a long seminary type explanation, I tends to believe that what happens happens. God has created the world and all in it and has ‘thrown’ it out into eternity.
Why is it that God ‘seemingly’ steps into one person’s experience but not another’s? When I pray, does that change God’s mind?
It seems to me that prayer is more of a conversation with God and a faith that he is there, but what happens has already been laid out. Of course I don’t know what will happen, but it doesn’t matter anyway.
Does anyone have a better explaination for me.
Many people think as you do. Know that God loves and cares for you as an individual. Go on YouTube and watch the videos of Ravi Zacharias and you will understand how important you are to God.
Start with this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4e_AOqlllc
(copy and paste into your browser)
Jon,
Prayer is exectly that [and so much more]. it is a converstion, it is petition, it is an emptying of your sorrows. And yes, you can change God’s mind with prayer. It happened in Exodus 32 with Moses & you can also read Jeremiah 4:28 & Jeremiah 18:8.
God also calls us to reason with him, meaning let’s see where we can find a common ground, see Isaiah 1:18. God longs to give us the desires of our hearts if only we will humbly tell him what they are.
Keep on praying and believe that your words are being heard by the God of all creation. The One who spoke the world into being.
Enjoy!
Faith does not equal Fate. One either believes what God says – the truth of Scripture or one does not. While I dfo believe that God speaks to us in the Word, the message that He is trying to convey is more “message” than literal word for word translation.
God does answer prayer. What we do not like to hear is that our prayers may be sincere but how sincere is our faith. We cannot earn anything from God, lest we claim it as deserved and “won”. Likewise we do not achieve a negative response by our bad conduct but rather a no response. The winning was done on the cross. God is sovereign and His answer to prayer is sovereign even when it is NO. Do not let disbelief or any form of disobedience become a barrier to receive His blessings.
Yes Yes Yes i’m going through it right now i thought that i was the only one that felt like that and something was wrong with me only to turn to gospel .net and to click on a link that would lead me too a topic on praying i did not stop believing but just going through something that i do not understand and do not know why where my mind and my body hurts to the point that it make me feel like i’m losing it but keep in mind i had to return to god and say please help me and please send me someone i could talk too or a friend and he did just yesterday when i went to the doctor and he does answer prayer when he know that you believe that prayer and he know that you are serious about what you are saying too him and most of all when he know that you are at your most humble state of mine and body so i give god all the tumbs up in the world cause he know what i’m going through right now i’m at a state where i feel like i was going too lose my mind and he sent help right on time try him cause he is at work and he do work amen.
after the death of my 15year old son, some months later, although still in hysteria i`m sure, payer brought me out, i was praying why me, and my answer back shocked me back into semi-conscience.i had believed in god for many years, or believed i did,i had a baptist minister for a father,and i had the word of god in me that took over, and gave me an answer that shocked me straight, exactly whats needed for hysteria.the word spoke to me,why not you,god is no respecter of persons,and you are praying to one that gave his son willingly,to save you.that was my start to recovery,i had to believe that if i believed in god, and it was coming from inside me.thank you god.
Never give up praying or… having conversations with God.. it’s suppose to be that comfortable as if were having a conversation with God.
He is not a magic geninie and he isn’t sitting on a thrown with a big club waiting to hit us for our wrong doing, thought or deed.
I think it doe’s matter if we pray or not.. the more we pray, our relationship with God will beocme closer.. He see’s how we handle our problems and if we include Him in them or do we go to our friends first.. and choose Him last. Our friends cannot do the things God can do for us.. and when our time comes to an end, it will be us alone standing before God.. I say we will be bowing down before God.. how could anyone stand before God, He will be so glorious, just like when Moses spoke to him, when he came down from the mountain, no one could look at him because of the radiance beeming from his face.. short explanation, He will be so powerful, we will respect and honor him by bowing down to Him. When we seek God with our wants and needs and even the little things the closer we will become to God…