Lent 25 Prayer

Yesterday Ben got the day off school cos the school boiler had broken down!   So he and I had some bonus time together .  We went out for lunch.

Walking down the street he suddenly said to me  ' Mum isnt it really funny how when we pray for something it happens'   He had a big grin on his face.  I knew what he was thinking about.   A few months ago he was struggling with his swimming lessons at school which happen on a Friday morning.  They were making him dive to the bottom to retrieve weights, and whilst he is a competent swimmer and he can actually manage the diving, it made him feel stressed and panicky to the point where he was starting to not want to go swimming.  There were a few tears before I got to the bottom of what he was so bothered about  ( and of course the final discussion tool place at ten to nine on a Friday morning when I didnt really have the time to do anything other than suggest we send up an emergency prayer about it)   I told Ben that God knew how he was feeling about swimming and we prayed, asking that God would do something to sort it out.   That was it.  ' Help!'  And I packed him

off to school.    He bounced back in at the end of the day with a big grin on his face saying that swimming had been brilliant.  They had not done diving that morning but instead had been allowed to play with the inflatable toys in the pool.   Ben knew fine well that not only had his prayers been answered but God had gone over and above what he had asked or imagined.  This restored his confidence in going swimming with school and had a profound impact on his attitude to prayer.

Yesterday he missed swimming because of the boiler breaking down.  Missing swimming reminded him of the way God had worked a few months back to resolve the swimming issue.  I asked him if he would be prepared to share the story of his answered prayer in church.  He said no.  I asked why. He said ' Well, because God doesnt always answer prayers does He?'   I smiled and trotted out the trite answer that God DOES always answer prayers, its just that sometimes He says no, or not yet.
Without pausing to take breath he said  ' So if we have been praying that our family stops being so grumpy and that we can be nicer to each other but we still fight and argue all the time - so God has said no to that prayer??  Why would He do that??  Doesnt He want us to be nice to each other?'
Smart kid.   You have to be on your toes when you are talking spiritual stuff to kids

I said that perhaps God wasnt going to answer that sort of prayer because actually He wants us to sort ourselves out - wants us to make the effort to be kind, patient, tolerant, forgiving, nice.  And that this is our responsibility not Gods.   He conceded that this was probably right.  And I think we ended the discussion with his faith in the power of prayer intact.

And the moral of the story....?

Well, I think we are notoriously bad at reminding ourselves of the times God answers our prayers.  I dont know about you, but He answers me  all the time on the daily, nitty gritty, can't find my car keys, remind me to phone so-and so , I'm running late please get me there on time stuff.   In the ongoing daily conversation of life God is constantly oiling the wheels and holding me together - even though I dont converse with Him anything like as much as I could or should.    It's in the bigger things that answers come more slowly, infrequently, frustratingly.   The prayers for healing which seem to go unheeded.   The friends going through relationship breakdown.  The difficult situation at work.  The school bully.   It is easy to take your eyes off a faithful God and lament unchanging circumstances when we dont see instant answers.  And that leads to a lack of trust, loss of hope and ultimately a loss of confidence that God is who He says He is.

King David's psalms so often remind us to look back on everything the Lord has done for us, to declare His faithfulness in specific instances.  To testify to His goodness in our lives - the very act of doing so declares to the enemy that we have a great big, active, powerful, compassionate and loving God.   So if today you are struggling with the fact that your prayer for something specific has not yet been answered, remind yourself of a time when you know God came through for you.  Thank Him for the lost keys you found, the sore head that went away, the car that started, the person who showed up just at the right time, the friend who blessed you, the money He provided, the sermon which gave you the answer, the scripture which shone a light.   He HAS answered your prayers.... lots and lots of them. Focus on this.  And then renew your faith, hope and love as you persevere in praying for the ' not-yet-answered' things.