Our Part in Prayer

I often wonder about why and how it is that prayer works, in many ways it is a mystery of faith, faith in the person and work of Christ, in the Providence of God the Father, in the comfort of His Spirit. When I read about Christians being persecuted, think about friends with tragic health issues, or dwell on the garden-variety of everyday difficulties as I pray I wonder - What is the of talking with God, is it for me, is it for Him, is it for them? Well, I know it's not for God, he is perfectly complete within Himself and has no need for my relationship with Him, His love is fully "Gift" Love for me. My love for Him is mostly Need Love, and that mostly is generous, in that it should be stated as entirely "Need" love. How is it that we come to pray for others, and trust God to not only hear but consider our desires, or rather are our prayers in answer to His Spirit's bidding and He has already ordained the answer to what we ask?

As we prayed about the election today, I was reminded of a tweet I'd read on a blog that something like... Come Wednesday morning we can be sure that God is still King. Don't get me wrong - once E. returns we'll be voting, issues and canidates picked to the best of our ability with Kingdom criteria however, it is God who raises leaders, not one is in place without His consent.

I liked the following piece on prayer..The full article can be found here




Prayer is our way of seeking what we lack, which God has the power to bestow.

Prayer always recognises that God will answer all our prayers in accordance with his purposes, and that these purposes are always infinitely glorifying to him and always perfectly good (viewed from his [eternal] perspective, and measured according to what God regards as valuable) for his people (Romans 8:28).

Therefore every unanswered prayer (for health, marriage, the safety of a loved one, employment, friendship, life, breath and anything else) provides an opportunity to say to our heavenly Father:

“You are my loving Lord, and you know what’s best for your people. I can see that you’ve decided not to bestow (yet?) what I asked for, despite the fact that I can’t help thinking that it would be far better for me if you were to do so. So I praise you, heavenly Father, for

(1) this opportunity to re-think what is really ‘good’ for me;

(2) the greater blessings that you have in store, towards which this as-yet unanswered prayer is working;

(3) this fire in which you are refining my faith by requiring me to trust in your goodness and love even when it’s harder than ever to do so;

(4) the opportunities that the coming days, weeks and years may bring for me to praise you as I see some of the details of your sovereign plan working out;

(5) the future that certainly lies ahead in the New Creation, where I will praise you for your intricately-woven goodness and wisdom, where I will see finally and fully what I now see only by faith – that all things truly do work together for the good of those who are in Christ.”