Philippians 4:6

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Reflection

I have a poster in my home office that I have likely had for more than 20 years.  It is entitled “Children’s Letters to God” and has several little prayers that begin “Dear God” and is written from a child’s perspective.  One of my favourites is: “Dear God, thank you for the baby brother but what I prayed for was a puppy.”

We can clearly imagine a child saying this and we smile to ourselves over it.  And yet, isn’t it something that any one of us might pray with a different context?

Dear God, thank you for …. but what I really prayed for was….

We go to God in prayer and we do not always get the response we had hoped for or expected.  Sometimes we feel that God has not answered our prayers at all, or we question if God is really listening.

Keep praying. Keep praying!  God comes to us in prayer as we open our ears to listen for God’s voice and open our eyes to see how God is moving in our lives.  God comes to us in prayer as we find ourselves being challenged and transformed through our prayers.  God comes to us in prayer when we recognize that perhaps it was a brother and not a puppy, that we needed all along!

Prayer is a gift – not one that we give to God but a gift that God offers us as we are continually invited into relationship with the One who hears our prayers.

Prayer

God, I long to keep praying and yet I’m never quite sure what it entails.  Whether it be simple words, deep sighs or shouted longings, hear my prayers today…..

To Listen