The Recipe

If you are like me, you might have gotten drawn in by words like, “How to get God to answer your prayers EVERY time”, “How do you get prayers answered in 24 hours?” or “How to get prayers answered 100% of the time”. I have read articles, books, and bible studies on the subject. There have been plans, formulas, and recipes to gain success in our prayer life. And who wouldn’t want some of these things people claim to have? I thought of this the other day when praying for something very important to me and again I considered that maybe I needed to think about another way to pray, perhaps I could do better. Then the proverbial God light bulb went off in my head and I thought, “Since prayer is so important in our lives and is so intimate and personal, why would God keep it a secret until that “one” person wrote a book about it to clue the rest of us in?” Why would my best friend hide something so vital to our relationship from me? Oh, don’t get me wrong. There is always a place for learning and growing in our spiritual life and even in our prayer life but as I sat there in fervent prayer I wasn’t following some formula or recipe. I was a child talking to her Father with my warts and all. We both knew the score! I was totally unworthy to talk to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings but my bible told me that my Father bends down to hear what I have to say to Him. The God I call my friend desires that I lay all my burdens on Him. My Holy Father who lives in heaven wants to meet my daily needs and forgive my sins. He desires to lead me and protect me from the evil one. When Jesus was at the grave of Lazarus, He prayed a simple prayer. He looked up and said, “Thank you for hearing me as you always do”. In this story of Lazarus the shortest verse in the bible is found, John 11:35 says “Jesus wept”! Many times my prayers are just one word! Help! And I picture my Jesus weeping over the sadness of my situation. Does He answer immediately every time? Not always as far as I can see with my finite mind anyway! Does He give me what I want 100% of the time or in 24 hours? No, sometimes it is decades or could be in the blink of an eye! Is there a magic formula or secret recipe? No! He just loves us and hears our dreams and hopes as well as our most profound utterings, prayers that the Holy Spirit can only turn into groans. He loves to hear our voice He sings over us with absolute unfailing love. Extra! Extra! Read all about it! God is faithful! God is trustworthy! So JUST PRAY! Jesus wept. John 11:35 NIV So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. John 11:41 NIV “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’Matthew 6:9‭-‬13 NIV