The Year of Living Thankfully & Thoughts on Prayer

Just in case any of my bloggy friends were wondering if I abandoned The Year of Living Thankfully (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4), I didn't. I just felt the need to keep my thankful list private. Who needs to hear me thank the Lord for the little things like a successful potty training day with the babies, or park day, or that no one got into too much trouble during our library trip? Who needs to know that I'm thankful for A+s, family devotionals, and a good night's sleep? I can't imagine that anyone needs to hear how grateful I am for the respite I find in a good book, a phonecall from a friend, or that people I love who are in the middle of a painful divorce are finally talking to each other. All these things are a big deal to me, but to share them with the blogosphere felt stupid. But, I am still keeping my daily list of the blessings big and small from the Lord for which I'm grateful... I'm just not publishing it. It's good to know that I draw the line somewhere, right?

Anyway, along with thankfulness, the other major thing that the Lord has been impressing upon me this year is prayer. You know how the Lord puts something on your heart, or you're just thinking about something and you see it everywhere? It's that kind of "impressing". It's practically harassment!

I think that sometimes I'm so dense that God thinks about shouting audibly,

"HEY, YOU, REMEMBER ME? HOW 'BOUT PRAYING!"

Why, as a Christian, is it so hard to remember to pray? When something is going awry do I think of praying right away? Nope. At least not every time, even though I should. When I have a problem, asking Jesus for help or comfort should come to mind immediately, and yet it doesn't. After hours or days (or longer) of suffering or worrying myself sick, I feel like smacking myself in the head when it finally does dawn on me to do the obvious... PRAY! So, for that reason I'm glad that God is hounding me to talk to Him, to hold a running conversation with Him, to get right up close to His ear.

Recently my grandmother, Anne Ortlund, spoke at church on prayer. What an eloquent and exhorting message! She reminded me to pray for everything that's on my heart, not just the wimpy requests, the easy things, but stuff that requires actual God-intervention. That's right... ask for real-live, documentable, scientifically provable, mind-blowing answers to prayer.

After that, my brother Buddy asked for prayer for Lincoln, our nephew who has Down’s Syndrome. He challenged me and others to remember that the Lord raises the dead, so what is Down’s compared to His omnipotence? At first, when I read that request, I’m ashamed to confess that I thought, “Come on, Buddy, let’s be realistic.”

How faithless of me! I realized that I was denying that God is capable of such a miracle, and that He desires for His children to make our requests known... all of our requests! That recognition shook me.

Do I believe in miracles? Yes, I do! Do I believe that Jesus is still in the miracle business today, and not just in Biblical history? Yes, I do! Do I believe that He will answer me if I pray specifically? Yes, I do!



Obviously, His answer is not always the one I would wish it to be. Sometimes it's YES! Sometimes it's NO. And, seemingly worst of all, sometimes it's WAIT. But, how do I know what He will or won't do if I never ask???

Here's the thing: If I know that God is bigger than any medical diagnosis, any problem, any broken heart or destroyed relationship, if He's the Lord of all creation, of Heaven and earth, of every single thing from the universe and whatever is greater than that to subatomic particles and whatever is smaller... then why should I ever keep my prayers from His throne? or distrust His ability to do whatever He wills?

In Matthew 4:23 the Bible says that Jesus went about “healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease” in Galilee.

I believe that!

So, I’m praying again for the things that seem “unrealistic”. Watch out!

I'm fully expecting miraculous results!