Thoughts on prayer

[Kem]

Thoughts on prayer.
We often feel we are too insignificant to really be heard by Almighty God, why would God bother to listen to us who are so far from perfect?

We must remember that our insignificance does not matter at all for we do not come to the Father in our own name but in the Name of His beloved Son. His ear is always open to that Name. Of this we can be certain.

We must remember that it is a lie from Satan that God will not hear us; he (Satan) is much more afraid of our prayer than our work. This is proved by the immense difficulties we always find when we truly set ourselves to pray. They are much greater than those we meet when we set ourselves to work.

Isaiah 44:22 and 1John 1:9 meet any distress we may have about past sin. Isaiah 40:29-31 and 2 Corinthians 12:9,10 meets everything that spiritual or physical weariness can do to hinder. Psalm 27:8 and Isaiah 45:19 meet all other difficulties and the moment we say to our God, “Thy face, Lord, will I seek,” His mighty energies come to the rescue.

Almost all of this is from the book Keep a Quiet Heart by Elizabeth Elliot. I've just slightly changed a few words to make the thoughts fit without typing the rest of the chapter.

 

[Everlasting Life]

Loved this, thanks for sharing. And, so true!

 

[pixelpusher]

We can all pray. It takes certain giftings for other specific roles in the Church, but all can lift petitions before the Throne in Christ's name.

 

[Everlasting Life]

I've seen so much answered prayer that I pray for everything. I'm also waiting for answered prayer in a couple of situations, trusting God's timing.

A couple of years back, when things were really going bonkers in the world and nation, my son as a teenager was helping me change a battery that required taking a tire off and removing some tabs on a panel. He was struggling with the tabs because they were unusual.

For a brief moment I thought that maybe praying about this was a low priority thing for God but brushed that off and prayed for help anyways.

I kid you not, within 2 seconds of finishing praying, a truck busted around the corner of our block, stopped and a man stepped out and asked if we needed help!

In 10 seconds he showed what needed to be done, said goodbye and busted around the other corner of our block.

In a span of about 2 minutes my prayer had been answered, and in the midst of all kinds of things going on that loomed larger.

So, I'm never hesitant to pray..... about anything. God's truly our ever present help.

 

[Hol]

I kid you not, within 2 seconds of finishing praying, a truck busted around the corner of our block, stopped and a man stepped out and asked if we needed help!

Wow, that brings me to tears.

God is amazing

 

[pixelpusher]

I kid you not, within 2 seconds of finishing praying, a truck busted around the corner of our block, stopped and a man stepped out and asked if we needed help!

I think I told this before on the old RRBB site, but as newlyweds, we were returning from our honeymoon in Destin, Florida. It was about 2AM on a dark stretch of interstate outside Auburn, Alabama. The timing belt broke in my wife's car. Engine shut off, I popped it in neutral and we coasted onto the shoulder. Car would not start, but it started raining. I looked under the hood, nothing obvious, but it was pitch dark out there. Tried to flag down several passing 18-wheelers, but they just shifted to the other lane and kept on trucking. No other traffic but the occasional trucker. We prayed, and wondered what now?

In the days before GPS and such, we had no idea exactly how far from town we were (turned out, not far), stuck in a big curve, couldn't see very far down the road. The woods on either side of the interstate looked really big. In just a few minutes, a little red pickup pulled up behind us, maybe a Ford Ranger or little Toyota. A guy got out, came and asked us what we needed.

He drove us just a couple miles up the road to an exit, where we used a pay phone at a closed gas station — he told us the name of the wrecker service to call, and we were able to locate them in the yellow pages of the phone book hanging in the booth. Then he took us back to our car, and left. Shortly the wrecker pulls up, hooked us up and we rode in the cab with the driver into Auburn. He knew a guy at the repair shop, and dropped our car in the lot, then he knew a little motel, and took us there. One of those little motor lodge places, where we woke up the clerk by ringing the office bell. He gave us a room key, and said if we were out by 7am and left the place neat, there would be no charge!

The next morning, we walked a couple miles to the repair shop, and talked to the guy. There was a Wendy's across the street, so we went and got breakfast and prayed again while they looked at the car. Finally they diagnosed it, and told us it was an interference engine, and likely the timing belt breaking at highway speeds was going to mean the engine was ruined, but they would see what they could do.

We went back to Wendy's where we wound up hanging out all day and called my Mom back home, told her we might be taking a bus home. The plan was we'd go to my uncle's house which was closest, then he'd drive us the rest of the way.

Well, the shop changed the belt, and the car cranked up. It was running a bit rough, but it was running, so we wound up making it back to NC! We did stop at uncle's for the night, and drove on the next morning. The following week, we took that little Nissan down to the Honda dealership and traded it in.

God sure did look after us!

 

[Tall Timbers]

I've seen so much answered prayer that I pray for everything. I'm also waiting for answered prayer in a couple of situations, trusting God's timing.

If I've laid in bed for a long time and don't fall asleep, I'll ask the Lord to help me sleep. My prayers are usually the last thing I remember.

When I was younger I did a lot of work on vehicles. Numerous times a job would stump me and I'd leave it and pray for help. Nearly always I'd wake up in the middle of the night with the solution in my brain. Thank you Jesus.

I've got a thousand more examples if I just think on it for a while. I like to pray for everything. God answers prayer! He's an awesome Father with a Savior for a Son and and a wonderful Comforter in His Spirit.

 

[Everlasting Life]

Love reading stories of God's faithfulness in answering prayer! It's so encouraging.

Yes, TT, it used to be that prayer was last resort for me too but not as much anymore. God is our wonderful resource, helper and refuge.

In scripture I picked up on one of the things that hurt Him with Israel in the Old Testament which was when they were in trouble they didn't ask Him for help anymore. Of course that was connected to their idolatry but beyond this it seems that our trust in God by seeking Him for help is deeply meaningful to Him.

Looking forward to reading more stories from everyone.