An Answer to a Prayer

“Pray for me “.

“I will pray for you “.

“Prayer is powerful.”

“Prayer is the key to heaven “.

All these are lovely and heard often. But what is prayer – really?

I looked online for synonyms for prayer. Popped up were the following: petition, request, collect, thanksgiving, orison, pleading, invocation, grace, supplication, and begging. Interesting. Not sure any of these would be the first word that would come to my mind, but such is the internet.

Just a little conversation

I worked in the corporate world for 45 years before electing to resign and work for the Catholic Church. And I can tell you that in every survey we ever executed, the word COMMUNICATION was always the word that came back as a weakness for the company. Employees complained about it, begged for it, had ideas for improving it. Ultimately, it felt like it was always somewhere at the top of the list of “fixes.”

In my heart, prayer is a sacred communication with Jesus. If all those employees, for 45 years, were ranking communication so high, it likely had some validity. Who’s kidding who!!  It is the same thing with prayer. Prayer is our iPhone, our text message, our WhatsApp with Jesus. We are blessed it costs us nothing to pray.

Prayer is priceless

I pray a lot. A dear friend gifted me with a small photo entitled “Woman of Prayer” referring to me. I treasure this more than most anything I own. Because it has nothing to do with money, or possessions or status. It speaks of time I spend talking with Jesus. However, I don’t portend to be the expert on prayer.  Prayer is a very personal relationship with God. Your heart will drive your prayers and God knows what is in your heart. And I am guessing many/most who visit this website do the same. And I would venture to say prayer means different things to different people. Prayer can be a plea for help. Prayer can be a message of thanks to Our Lord. It can be a request for guidance, or a sharing of love, or even a simple conversation with Jesus.

Beef it Up

Sometimes I think we use the word prayer too flimsily.  “Prayers up”!!…” You are in my prayers.”  I don’t doubt those who say these things have good intentions, and I’m sure some actually pray.  If we all treated prayer as it was intended, perhaps the world would be a kinder, gentler place to live. My intuition is that a good many of the prayers all of us pray are prayed when we want something. Lord, please help me get an “A” on this test. Lord, please get Tommy to ask me to the dance. Lord, please ensure my request for a car loan is approved. Nope. There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for things. And there is no doubt in my mind, God hears them. But I venture to believe that God might ask us to put a little more meat on the bone for prayers we send his way.

Sometimes I feel guilty when I pray because I always feel like I am always asking for something. I know it doesn’t work this way, but if I ask something of God, He likely wants me to be kind, be just, act with humility and love each other, as I have said in a previous article. Jesus doesn’t trade one favor for another.  Only he knows what is best and that is when He hears our prayers. But if I want His help, I should be ready to do His Will even when it is not easy. It’s doing it when it’s not easy that reflects the humility He wants of us.

So, when do I get my answer?

So, easy-peasy. Right? Just do the four things above, and God will answer all my prayers. Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean that the answer I get is the answer I want.  God knows what’s best and His Will be done.  And because of the love we have for Jesus, I trust I’ll get an answer one way or the other.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t hear some deep voice like in the movie “The Ten Commandments” answering my prayers.  Maybe God sends a friend my way to give me the answer to my prayer. I must be open to hearing the answer, regardless of how it is delivered. And I feel like this has happened to me more than once.

I know, based on my faith, that my prayers are answered in various ways. Does praying “work”? My faith says yes. Are you able to prove that your prayers to Jesus saved someone from dying, or caused your favorite football team to win, or even that you were approved for that car loan you wanted? No, there is no bell that rings like when an angel gets his wings in another film called “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

It's the relationship that matters

But that is where faith comes in. Prayer is serious. Jesus taught us to pray for a reason. We need to be respectful of prayer. We don’t pray to just get “stuff”.  It’s not that simple.  It’s the communication with God that is important and His hearing our prayers, asking us to trust that His Will be done.

I’ve been praying for something specific for some months now.  So far, my prayer has not been granted and I sense I am not likely to “get my way.”  But deep down I know why. If I thought it was a waste of time, I wouldn’t keep praying.  If God means to grant my prayer, then He will. If not, that’s when my humility will kick in and realize God has other plans for me.  And I need to set my needs aside for what, I know, is God’s way, which I trust is the right way. If my way was always the right way, I’d have no need to pray. But I keep praying. Perhaps before I am with Him in heaven, he’ll grant me this special request.

Praying has forced me to learn that phrase I’ve adopted for myself….”It’s not about me, it’s about Him”.

When you pray, look, listen, and wait for the answer. It may come in a way you didn’t expect.