One day a mother decided to take her three children to an ice skating
party in a nearby town, but after several wrong turns and stops to ask
directions, she pulled over to the side of the road and suggested they
all ask God to help them find the rink. When they finally arrived, they
were nearly an hour late.
The following week, as they got into
the car to go skating again, her five-year-old son exclaimed, "Mom,
let's pray now and save time!"
That little boy exposed one of the
shortcomings in the prayer lives of many of us. We pray to God whenever
we get into trouble, asking God to help take care of us. And there's
certainly nothing wrong with that. God wants us to turn to Him when we
are in need. As the Psalmist said, "When the righteous cry for help, the
Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles." (Psalm 34:17)
But sometimes that's the only time we pray. We don't feel the need
to pray when things are going well in our lives. But, as that little
5-year-old boy noted, perhaps we wouldn't be in need nearly as much if
we prayed in advance. If we prayed for wisdom. If we prayed for God's
guidance in our lives. If we gave thanks for the many blessings we
enjoy. If we prayed for God's will to be done. If we asked for God's
presence. If we gave God the honor due Him.
As a father, I didn't
mind if my children came to me when they needed something. I wanted them
to do that. But it would have bothered me if that's the only time they
ever spoke to me. I wanted a relationship with them that went beyond
meeting their needs, a relationship of mutual love. An attitude of
constant prayer is a distinguishing mark of the mature Christian, which
is why we are commanded to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). As
someone once put it, "If you only pray when you're in trouble, you're in
trouble."
"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it
with thanksgiving." (Col. 4:2) Let's pray now!
Alan Smith Innisfil, ON, Canada
