By bro Marc Wee
I pray daily. And I am sure most of us do. But I often ask myself, is it enough? Should I be praying more?
As I grow older, I find the need to pray for everything. This was not the case when I started out as a young convert. Why? Partly because I didn’t know how to pray.
I was a Catholic for many years and was taught to pray since a young boy. The first prayers I learned were the standard three prayers. Our Father, Hail Mary, and the prayer to the trinity. And we were told from young that we need to remember these 3 prayers. This was even more firmly engrained when we had rosary sessions where we would kneel and recite Hail Mary well over 50 times. Prayer to me then was the longer the better and thus you show your sincerity to God by such long chanting. If you were afraid that you would not be heard, you could always enlist the help of saints and martyrs who had gone before us. Praying to them could allow you to skip the queue and move up the waiting list and have your petitions answered. And if you did not know how to pray to the saints, you could always buy a prayer card to be kept in your wallet, so that it could be whipped out for a quick recital. Or how about a rosary ring so that you could discreetly pray on the journey to work or home. Looking back, I have prayed in front of many statues of Jesus, Mary, and numerous saints for their help. Especially those times when I was trying to convince myself that being Catholic was the right way. That Jac was wrong and the Lord’s church was just like any Protestant church, a protest against the true church with Peter as the first pope.
I sought the advice of family members and priests on how I should go about convincing my wife that the Roman Catholic church was the one true church? Their answer was prayer. You need to pray. If 10 Hail Marys were not enough, then 20. But eventually, God will hear your prayer.
But be gentle and do not argue. And that they will use the Bible to argue with you, but do not be discouraged. They will point out all sorts of misinterpretations in the Bible to stumble you. But you know what? It’s ok, just pray and know that God loves you.
Prayer is important.
Mat.6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
I had thought that by praying more times and going to certain places to pray, it would prove my sincerity to God, and He would answer my prayer.
We should pray earnestly, but vain repetition does not make prayer more effective.
Prayer is a special time when we speak directly to God. But do we often feel like it’s one way? Unlike human conversation where we get a response when speaking to one another, this communication is rather one way. Or is it?
ASK
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Jesus said we should ask. But are we asking Him for the right things?
One thing I learned over the years is that we should make Godly decisions and ask for things that God will approve of. Only then will He bless us.
SEEK
1Ch 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever.
God knows our hearts and will give us what we want if it is in accordance to His will. Not for personal ambition but for us to serve Him. He understands all the purposes of our thoughts. But if we forsake Him, which is to fail Him, He will not listen to our prayers.
A good example is Abraham and Sarah. They wanted a child but did not get one and when all hope was lost, God chose to open her womb and she conceived Isaac.
She tried her way for Abraham to have descendants but that was not what God wanted. So sometimes if we try too hard, we will not get it. Because that is not what God wants.
Gen 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
And God will make it happen if only if it pleases him. Humble our minds and hearts before we pray and truly seek God. Our question should not be what we want. But what does God want? Only then will we start to realize that our prayers are answered.
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