1st kings 17:17-24; James 5:13-20
God tells or commands us to call upon him in time of trouble, and He will deliver us. God is more eager to answer us than we are to pray. But sometimes we think that God might not answer our prayers. This kind of thoughts often stops us from praying or makes us pray without faith.
Beloved, God calls on us to pray. That is our duty. And when we pray, we should have faith; we should believe that God is able to answer our prayers. It is God’s responsibility to answer our prayers. Nothing should stop us from bringing our request to God in prayer especially in times of trouble.
Joseph M. Scriven in the third line of the first stanza of his hymn “What a Friend we have in Jesus” wrote:
“Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bare, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer”
When we pray, it shows that we trust God and we want him to intervene in our situation. It is his place to intervene in anyway he chooses, it is our place to pray. Sometimes prayers become very cumbersome because a lot of people have forgotten that just a little talk with Jesus can make things right. Prayers have somehow been institutionalized, making a lot of Christians to believe that prayers are meant to be offered by some “professionals.” I believe that the only professionalism we need while praying is faith; even the one that is as small as a mustard seed.
Elijah who prayed for fire to come down from heaven, and for the clouds to hold back rain for over three years, was the same person who ran into hiding because he was threatened by Jezebel. He could have prayed for fire to consume Jezebel, or for the brook he was drinking from, not to dry up. well we don’t know if he prayed for such. But the Bible records that he prayed to die, and God did not answer that prayer. But when he prayed for the son of the widow to come back to life, God answered.
We should get to a point where prayer does not become a last resort.
Prayers should not be difficult. Even when we have sinned, we should quickly pray for forgiveness. It is a means of talking to, or communicating with God about anything and everything. It does not have to be filled with repetitions and vain words. When we kneel in prayer, we should commune with God as a friend would do to a friend. As long as you are fervent, and believe that Christ has made you righteous, then your prayers can bring about wonderful results. So beloved, keep praying earnestly. Jesus will answer, and will do much more than what we even ask or imagine.
Remain forever blessed and highly favored. Amen
Papa Mbos 