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Prayer in question

What’s the use of praying today? Nothing ever happens anyway. (EG)

Conversations with God

When a person prays, it means that he or she believes in Someone (God, a higher being) who will answer or grant whatever he’s asking for. It implies a relationship of childlike trust and love. Since, the belief in the Absolute Being with whom we have a relationship is present in all religions – and in fact for Christians, – we are all created by Him in order to establish this relationship, prayer which is relating to the absolute being, is not only inherent in man, but a necessity for us, as we are His creatures.

It is said that man can survive for some days without food, but he could not survive as a man without prayer since it is in prayer that he becomes what he is supposed to be: a creature of God.

However, in today’s modern times where consumerism and instant gratification have become the lifestyle of many, prayer is reduced to our asking for something, perhaps in exchange for another, and even prayers are expected to be answered immediately! In a split second!

Otherwise it seems that God is not listening. Just as fast food is now being challenged by “slow food” (i.e. food prepared with meticulous care, with healthy ingredients and not in
a series) we have to learn how to wait for God’s answer. It is in this uniting oneself to God that we can discover what He wants from us. This does not come in an instant but through a habitual communion with the Absolute.

On the other hand, prayer can be a prayer of petition, of asking for some favour (although there are also prayers of thanksgiving, praise, adoration, etc.). I am part of a social network where good news is shared, but also people’s needs and sufferings.
It is our practice to pray for any difficult situation that is reported. Thus we are often witnesses to miracles that happen without fanfare. Someone skeptical will say they are coincidences.

When, however, they continue to happen, after fervent prayer, our heart tells us that the words of Jesus have come true: “Ask and you will receive.” A recent fact: a Muslim mother, after several failed pregnancies finally gives birth, but the baby girl is premature and in critical condition. The doctors are trying everything to save her and my Christian group spreads the word to pray for her. The father told us that even his Muslim friends were praying to our common God. Then the mother herself falls into a coma and the doctors say that nothing can be done to save her. Our prayers continue. Inexplicably, to the surprise of the doctors, both mother and child begin
to recover. Today, we have shared through social media a picture of a radiant mother holding her baby daughter in her arms.
I believe that prayers are answered. When we pray, we open our hearts to God and let Him enter our lives. Prayer is a time when we listen to the Lord and the Lord too listens to us, and if he sees that what we are asking is good for us or for our ruin, he does his part. “Ask and you will receive,” Jesus said.

Having said this, many Christians renounce religion when a loved one dies. It may seem to them that God did not listen to their prayers and instead wanted their child, husband, father or mother to die. It is indeed a mystery and it would be too presumptuous for us to pretend to know what is in the mind of God – why this person was saved and not another, why an innocent child died while a murderer lives… This is where true prayer comes in: prayer, as a dialogue with a God who knows us and loves us, prayer that brings peace to the heart and gives courage to ask for the impossible!

So don’t give up on prayer! Try instead to start a simple “conversation”: a “talking” and a “listening” with God, to become His friend. Maybe while you are telling Him about yourself and your worries, joys and needs, you will also be able to hear Him telling you what to do, comforting you, and giving you courage to make the right choices.

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