Does Prayer Work?

A few weeks ago, a church staff associate shared a phrase he saw on a sign along the road.  It resonated with me so much that I had it printed on a sweatshirt.  "I am living the blessings that used to be my prayers".

I guess I always knew this to be true, but had never heard it expressed this way.  People don't give prayer its due.  Is there any real way to ensure your prayers make a difference?  Your hopes and dreams come true some of the time, and not others.  So, when they do come true, was it because of prayer?  I suppose we'll know that when we get to heaven.  But because my faith in Jesus is so solid, I have no doubt.

Prayers always answered?

And I have come to believe that when I pray for something and I don’t get my way, it’s not that my prayer wasn’t answered.  It’s likely because it was, and I didn’t look for the answer.  Somehow, just praying for something doesn’t mean God is always ready to say “yes”.  “His will be done” means just that.  And my getting everything I pray for is just crazy thinking.  Sometimes we get answers to our prayers and don’t realize it.

Some of us are blessed beyond explanation, with or without prayer.  And others, perhaps, not so much.  Blessings of money, homes, friends, cars, security are all gifts from God, whether we all remember this or not.  And how/if we share these gifts with those who may be in circumstances which prompt them to have to struggle, is God's prayer that we remember His Son's gift of dying on the cross, and that we also die on the cross a bit to share those blessings.

Prayers -> Blessings

Blessings come in all forms, as do the prayers which were the source.  Prayers and Blessings....chicken or the egg?  Am I blessed because I prayed, or am I prayerful because I am blessed? The blessings bestowed on me should also prompt me to pray, not necessary for more for me, but for those who need them.  I look around and see the want, the need, the suffering...and do I do anything?  Is my prayer for blessings to correct the want, the need and the suffering enough?  No, of course not.  Love in action is needed as well.

Prayers are not always pleas, and they shouldn’t be.  They should include prayers of thanks.  As a matter of fact, it’s said that every prayer should begin with a "thank you" to our Father.  Just the fact that we got up this morning deserves a “thank you”.  When we say thank you to our Lord, we are also reflecting on the gifts given to us and recognize the blessings which came from our prayers.  Its kind of a “what goes around, comes around” scenario.  Prayer besets blessings and blessings prompts more prayer.  Remembering to thank God for the gifts we receive could be a down payment, of sorts, on more to come.  “Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind." - Lionel Hampton   I love this quote, and expressing that gratitude to God before every prayer is just good practice and makes our hearts open to more blessings.

All kinds of prayer

And when we are not asking for something or thanking Him for something, we can also pray in praise of Him and pray on behalf of someone else through intercession.  How often do you pray for yourself and how often do you pray for someone else?  Is it 50/50 or 90/20?  Humility would encourage you to look to your left and right in prayer first.  It’s kind of back to that “what would Jesus do” thinking.  He was there for all of us long before it was popular and His dying on the cross is proof that His love for us was just that pure.

Praying as a form of love

I spend a lot of time just sitting in church praying, for friends, and one hour a week for a specific friend as part of a Seven Sisters Apostolate, which prays for priests.  Seven of us pray for a specific priest, each assigned a day of the week for one hour, every week, IN CHURCH.  Some may see it as a task.  I’ve been part of this Apostolate for two years now, and not only do I look forward to it, but I also actually pray on days which I am not assigned.  And I am so grateful I was invited to be part of this prayerful activity.  I honestly feel like I would be lost if I no longer prayed every Friday as part of the Apostolate.

Holiness and Prayer

The other day, a friend referred to me as “holy”.  I have been referred to as many things during my life, but don’t recall anyone referring to me as “holy”.  I doubted the accuracy of this, so, I decided to google the internet’s meaning of “holy”.  It said, “something or someone set apart or consecrated for a specific purpose”.  Do my prayers make me holy?  I don’t believe that.  Do my actions?  Maybe, in part.  So, was I called holy because my friend thinks of me that way?  I believe he believes that.  If there is any holiness to me, prayer is likely contributing to it.  And what that specific purpose is, is something to PRAY on, and then ACT on.