Prayer is a concept that I imagine pretty much all of us are familiar with. Yet can any one of us actually explain what it is and how it works? I know I can’t, not properly anyway. I get the idea that prayer is a way that I can communicate with God, which is what I use it for. The Bible also tells me that God wants me to pray, so I know that too. And I know that prayer doesn’t have to be carried out on a Sunday morning in a church building or with special phrases or words – on the contrary, it’s just about being yourself and talking to God wherever and whenever.
Beyond that though it often gets hazy.
It helps me to remember that if it is indeed true that an all-powerful being created me and us and everything in between, and that prayer is the way I can communicate with Him, it would be completely normal for there to be some aspects of that communication that I just don’t understand. If there were no mysteries surrounding prayer I would probably think something was amiss! However, despite my very basic understanding of prayer and a huge multitude of mysteries there is one other thing that I know. It works.
When I was 17 I went to a Christian youth conference called Soul Survivor. For an unknown reason (although I imagine it was due to getting wet feet whilst we were putting up our tents) over the course of 2 days my left foot doubled in size and became extremely painful to walk on. My friends were kind enough to help me hobble around or literally carry me to where I needed to go, and on the evening of the 2nd day they lifted me onto a table and gathered around me to pray for healing. Nothing happened. In fact, the next morning my foot was worse.
That morning we went to a seminar where a man gave a talk on healing and then invited people who needed healing to come forward for prayer. I got up and attempted to hop my way to the front, but with hundreds of other people making their way forwards I decided it would be easier if I sat where I was. My friend sat with me and began to pray. In no more than 5 minutes I was able to stand up without any pain. In a state of unbelief I removed my shoe and socks to see that the swelling had completely gone. I started jumping and running and stamping my foot. Just like that, God had healed me.
This is one of many stories I could tell where God has been gracious enough to answer prayer, but I think this is the most compelling. The fact that I can tell a story like this is one of the mysteries of prayer; how did that happen? Why didn’t it happen the night before? Why do some people never get healed? I can’t answer these. All I can say is that this experience taught me that prayer really does work.
As I said in my last blog, we are passionate about people and would absolutely love to pray either for or even with you if you are comfortable with that. If there is anything specific that you would like us to be praying for please do get in touch and let us know. I’d like to end write with that invitation, but also these two passages from the Bible that I hope will encourage you to take a few minutes to pray today:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” – Philippians 4:6
“Leave all your worries with Him, because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7
Ryan
