faith in prayer

How are you doing in talking to God lately? This time of the year we spend
more time thinking about our blessings and for what we have to be thankful
don't we? Most of us will gather in a few short days and offer a prayer of
thanksgiving to God for the food on our table. But, I wonder, do we really
believe that God actually hears your prayer. I mean, we go through the
motions, bow our heads, say the right words, but do we really think anyone
hears us other than those around us?

James gives us some interesting insight into prayer in James 1:5-8 where he
writes: "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to
you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that
your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty
is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their
loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in
everything they do." (NLT)

They say that in some things "a little child shall lead them." When our
oldest son Kirk was only about 5 years old and was kneeling beside his bed
one night saying his prayers (from the heart). He prayed, "And God, thank
you for my grandma, because she gives me everything I want."

I thought of this also when I read the following story about prayer. It
seems a minister's little six-year-old girl had been so naughty during the
week that her mother decided to give her the worst kind of punishment. She
told her she couldn't go to the Sunday School Picnic on Saturday.

When the day came, her mother felt she had been too harsh and changed her
mind. When she told the little girl she could go to the picnic, the child's
reaction was one of gloom and unhappiness. "What's the matter? I thought
you'd be glad to go to the picnic." her mother said. "It's too late!" the
little girl said. "I've already prayed for rain."

So when you gather with your friends and family (or just pray alone),
remember to pray from the heart, nothing wavering or doubting and know for
certain that Our God hears you.

Russ Lawson