Pastor Ben’s Ponderings

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”        (Romans 8:26-27)

Prayer is a powerful subject. Prayer isn’t a one-way dialog. I think we have a tendency to make our wishes known and don’t expect to get an answer, or at least not the one we wanted. When it comes right down to it, we really don’t know how to pray. What if the Lord answered all the prayers we ever prayed? God loves us so much that He sometimes gives us what we need and not what we want. Prayer is a process that reminds us of who God is and who we are.

I believe that there is great power in prayer, but I also believe we can’t tell God what to do and when to do it. There is a big difference between faith and presumption. There is a difference between believing He is the almighty God and demanding he be our divine servant. God knows that with our limited vision we don’t even know what we should pray for. We may be praying for something right now that God knows would not be best for us. When we give our prayers to Him, we trust Him to answer with His holy judgment.

I think the reason I like Romans 8 so much is that so much of the time I am at a loss to know how to pray. Read the above verse again… then take time to listen.

I have always liked the statement that the reason that the angels took the news of Christ’s birth to the shepherds was that they were quiet and could hear. We, too, when we pray should take the time to be still and know that He is God. Prayer is our privilege and our right as Christians. We can talk to God as a friend. I used to think that to pray you had to kneel down by your bed, but I have found that I can pray no matter what I’m doing. Prayer doesn’t have to be about big things; He is interested in small things, too. Anything that concerns us concerns Him, too. Let’s remember to thank Him, too, for answers seen and unseen.