Keep knocking!

"And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you."

Luke 11:9

 

But, what if it doesn't FEEL like you're getting what you asked for? What if your prayer seems to be going nowhere?  What if there is only silence on the other end? And, another one of my burning questions: does our prayer actually change God's mind?  Was God all set to do one thing and our prayer causes God to actually do another?  These questions drive me crazy (not a drive, just a short putt).  But, seriously.  What I have come up with, at this point in my spiritual journey is this: God wants to be in relationship with us.  Prayer is relationship, because we are communicating with God when we pray.  We may feel silence on the other side but that is just like the neighbor in Jesus' story today (Luke 11:5-13). Our persistence in prayer is the key to our prayer.  We continue to knock, even if no one seems to be home. Does God need our prayer? No, but WE need our prayer.  We need to be able to do something when difficulties arise.  We need to have a way to move out of ourselves and seek an answer.  We need to turn to Someone bigger than us.  It's a relief to know there is Someone bigger than us, that we aren't in charge of the universe and that the universe doesn't revolve around us. So, does God ultimately change an unsavory situation when we pray?  Possibly.  But mainly, God changes us.  God works inside of us, inside our hearts and minds.  And the change seems real.  The situation may be the same, but we are different.  And the change is real.  Love, heidi