"Dear God:
I say your prayer every night,
'lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us some e-mail'
but I never get an e-mail from you...
Do you have my right address??"
PS: Had a great time with crazy photo ops with my family, and this one made me giggle!
There's a sign on the fence that reads: Prayers for Sale!
An old woman tending her garden looks up when a young woman who appears new in town asks:
- How much do you charge?
- Is it more if you're in need than if you're wanting a favor?
- Do sinners pay more than the righteous?
- What if the Lord doesn't answer back?
- Do you get your money back?
In this world, we've
learned that we need to pay for things; we've learned that certain conditions
or restrictions may apply; and we expect to get a refund if it doesn't work.
But prayer doesn't work that way. Prayers are simple, free, and can be prayed by anyone. When you look up prayer in Wikipedia, or Google, you get "a reverent petition to a deity". There are many different types of religions. But prayer is something they all have in common. There may be different "rules" or ways, preferred methods; but the one thing they all share is someone's need to be heard. All of us long to connect with someone who can identify with our circumstances and share in our day-to-day life. Prayer can be just that.
Just think if you had to pay for prayers. Could you afford the ones you need? Would you be more cautious about what you prayed for? Saving up for the bigger things and stop praying for the little things? What about prayers for others? If we had to pay for prayers, would we pray for the needs of those around us in our lives? What if we had to pay more because we'd done something wrong? And the last thought about getting our money back if our prayer isn't answered .... how would we know our prayer wasn't answered? After all, as Garth Brooks sings: "just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care ... Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers."
But prayer doesn't work that way. Prayers are simple, free, and can be prayed by anyone. When you look up prayer in Wikipedia, or Google, you get "a reverent petition to a deity". There are many different types of religions. But prayer is something they all have in common. There may be different "rules" or ways, preferred methods; but the one thing they all share is someone's need to be heard. All of us long to connect with someone who can identify with our circumstances and share in our day-to-day life. Prayer can be just that.
Just think if you had to pay for prayers. Could you afford the ones you need? Would you be more cautious about what you prayed for? Saving up for the bigger things and stop praying for the little things? What about prayers for others? If we had to pay for prayers, would we pray for the needs of those around us in our lives? What if we had to pay more because we'd done something wrong? And the last thought about getting our money back if our prayer isn't answered .... how would we know our prayer wasn't answered? After all, as Garth Brooks sings: "just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care ... Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers."
Grow flowers of
gratitude
in the soil of prayer.
~Terri Guillemet
(To my folks: You're always in my thoughts and prayers!)
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