These days, we have much to pray for. I see a lot of people that I should pray for, and I receive many requests for prayer. All of these requests are desperate ones that can only be granted through God’s mercy, rather than human efforts. But I don’t think my prayers have been enough.
I am not used to asking God for the things that I need. This is partly because I am grateful for the things God has already granted me, but perhaps also because I’ve never been one to throw tantrums, as I grew up under my grandmother without any parents. Or perhaps it’s because I have complete faith that if God didn’t spare His own Son for us, He will, along with him, graciously give us all things.
This doesn’t mean that I think we don’t have to pray because God is in control anyway and will do things as he pleases. In fact, this isn’t a true form of faith – it’s more an apathy that is not based on any personal relationship with God. I pray for everything, including the most insignificant thoughts and feelings in my heart. But when it comes to my needs, while I pray with all my heart at the moment, I can’t really pray over the needs consistently over a long time.
But there are reasons for us to pray continuously. When it comes to praying for others, it’s not just about passing on their requests onto God. What I seek to achieve is to firstly pray to God about what they have asked, but more importantly to listen to what He feels about the issue at hand. “Both the other and I want this, but what do you think about this Lord?”. And so to pray for somebody else is to pray for the wisdom and knowledge that God only can provide that neither the requestor nor I would know. And so praying for somebody else is not just as simple as reporting, but to pray about somebody you love with God. Prayer is to participate in God’s reign, and to also get to know His plans. Therefore, it is only natural that prayers last a long time
In this sense, prayer is a fascinating mystery. It is a place in which you can experience God’s grace first hand. It is not simply about reading the prayer requests in the prayer note, but asking about God’s thoughts on each of the requests, and experiencing His grace during this time. So in times like these when there is a lot to pray about, I feel a heavier weight on my heart, and it feels like God has been calling me to pray.
In the parable of the grapevine in John 15, the former part speaks of devotion to the Lord, and the latter part speaks of the new commandment – to love Jesus as He loved us. If these two things are properly achieved, your prayers will be answered by God. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you (7)”, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. (16)”
Ultimately, only when our relationship with the Lord and our relationship with others is perfected, does His power manifest itself in our lives. In that sense, the ultimate goal of a Christian life is prayer. Just like the Lord, let us actively seek out places to pray. Let us build up the habit of prayer. Let us all do this together!
