Above a door frame in my home, I have a sign that serves as a daily reminder. The sign says, Always Stop & Pray. Because this sign has been there for so long, I often overlook it. However, there are moments that I just so happen to glance up, and I am reminded why I put it there. At one point, prayer was empty words. I prayed because I knew I should. Not because I was truly expecting God to hear my prayers.

I believe that I struggled with fully understanding prayer because there are many different aspects of praying. To list a few; We learn that God knows what we need before we ask, but He wants us to ask. Prayer is simply having a conversation with God, but I don’t always hear his voice. He answers prayers, yet he did provide what i was asking for. Prayer can change what God does, not who He is, but He can and will change how He handles a situation if we turn to Him in prayer. But He didn’t change my situation, that thing still happened. If we believe and do not doubt, we will receive. Well, why haven’t I? I believed I would. Prayer is to remind our problems of our God, but i still feel oppressed. We are even thaught to pray continuously. How can I pray continuously when i have to focus on this? Granted all of the above is true about prayer, but what does all this mean?

I have learned to look at prayer from all aspects. Think about your parent-child relationships. When our children come to us in a conversation we act and respond to them based on what is being said in the conversation. For example, if Jayla comes me and says mom I want a BMW for Christmas. I may in fact get her one, but believe me, it will be a toy because she is not ready for the responsibility of an actual BMW. However, if she comes to me and says mom I need to know that you are with me and are helping me, would I not act on that? I believe God does the same. He hears and responds to each and every prayer according to his wisdom.

So today, as you stop and pray, remember that there is no formula in getting God to respond to our prayers. But remember He listens and handles each prayer with care.