Prayer

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” Ephesians 6:18

Prayer is my main conduit to the Lord, my offensive and defensive Spiritual Weapon.

I love when God answers my prayers. Sometimes He answers them right away. Sometimes He takes a really long time. Sometimes, I wonder if He hears me at all.

A few years ago, driving down the 101 freeway, blasting my favorite Country Music station, I heard a concert announcement.

Tim Mc Graw was playing this weekend at the Staples Center! This is what I uttered to God, “Lord, I know this is really silly to ask you this, BUT……… I would so LOVE to go to that concert!” I continued down the freeway and moved on to other thoughts, really completely forgot about my silly request.

Another prayer, “Lord, help me focus on you, help me to be used by You, help me see who to serve today, help me to be your hands and feet, Lord.” When I am not sure what I am doing in a place, I will ask this.

“Show me Lord, who you want me to serve.” I am very often surprised by how He answers this prayer. It usually involves someone that I am to talk with, just connect with, and maybe pray with.

The funny thing is this prayer practice of mine came about from very selfish motives. I was painfully shy when I was young, self-absorbed and became very emotionally ill at a young age. One of the stages to healing was to serve others. When in a social situation where I didn’t know what to do, felt awkward, felt I didn’t fit in, felt misunderstood, I would look for someone else to focus on. I would strike up a conversation, and ask about them.

He answers that prayer so often. It is still one of my favorite artillery tools.

The seemingly unanswered prayer: the prayer that I pray when in really painful places, usually about my loved ones, my children, my husband. The prayer that I say when crying, wringing my hands, desperate. Scripture written out on 3 x 5 cards, so I can recite it often just to make it through each moment. I have had these types of moments, these types of days and these types of years.

Painful, wrenching, asking God to answer, asking Him to show me how He is answering. These are times when His Word says; “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor 12:9. My comfort and my relationship with you is enough. Often, the prayer feels unanswered, the pain doesn’t subside, or maybe the pain only subsides when I am in communion with Him. Nothing has really changed however. What I do know, because of what His Word says, is that even in still unanswered status, these prayers are heard.

Daniel 10:12, “Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, {Fear not, Mary Pat,} for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.” These are the prayers where the heavens are shaking, the clouds are moving, the battle of good and evil is strong, I may still not have Gods answer, YET, but what I do have is a feeling that I cannot describe adequately, the most precious place with my Lord, the place of suffering and His understanding of what that feels like.

Going back to that 1st silly prayer request. Two days later, after my silly prayer request, my husband was working in the garage. He calls me out there. “Hey Mary, “Do you know the country singer, Tim Mc Graw?” My answer, “YES!”

“Would you want to go to his concert tomorrow night?” “We were just given 6 tickets for us and the kids to go. It’s at Staples Center”. I tell ya, I just couldn’t believe it! “Yes, I want to go!” This is how the Lord answered this silly prayer. Box tickets at Staples Center, food lavished on us, floor seats as well in addition to the extravagant box.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” Ephesians 3:20.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” Romans 12:12, One of my favorite 3 x 5 cards!