“Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me;
and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of
God.”--Psalms 50:23
Please know that I choose my blog
topics because of my life experience. In some cases, I write what I’ve learned
through research and formal education. I
write my opinions only to uplift myself and others; I don’t claim expertise
in any given field.
I’ve been thinking
about prayer lately. It’s beyond difficult when we pray quite often and don’t
come up with immediate solutions to our problems. We may even have to wait for
years. That has been true in my life.
I could tell
you story after story of how my victories have been delayed or seriously downsized.
(Yes, I meant to use that word—with all its meanings.)
Lately, I’ve
realized I’m getting my prayers answered more than I realize, but in unexpected
ways. For instance, I might not be given
Opportunity A, but I’m led to the new and improved Opportunity B.
Also, in many
cases, I haven’t been praying with the right mindset. I prayed with impatience
and a lack of faith. It’s no surprise I wasn’t always receiving what I “demanded”
through my prayers.
Let’s discuss
attitude. I’ve learned one important
truth about powerful prayer:
Show Gratitude First
I used to
really be a whiner—in life, and in my prayers. I would complain about the same
problem over and over to God. I would vent in (usually) appropriate amounts to
close friends, too.
Think about
it: Don’t individuals start tuning out those who only criticize? Such negativity implies they don’t respect and
appreciate the help people are trying
to give them.
Pessimism doesn’t create solidarity; mutual understanding and compassion do.
Pessimism doesn’t create solidarity; mutual understanding and compassion do.
Parents
Do earthly parents
want to give more to their kids when
they complain about what they’ve already
been given—or say they don’t have enough
of something? I know I don’t. See if these thoughts sound familiar:
“You probably won’t like what I buy/cook/make next
time, either, so do I really want to bother?”
“Why don’t
you recognize the numerous kindnesses I do for you, instead of selfishly nitpicking
at a few miscalculations or delays?”
God
Are we
sending God the message, “You aren’t doing a good enough job,” as some of our children,
friends, and co-workers will? Really?
Is that truly the message we want to send to the Creator of the Universe who
has the big picture, unlike us? (See my last post here.)
Most of us
don’t want to reward a bad attitude. As
a mother and a substitute teacher, I can tell you that. Why would God be any
different?
My Conclusion
Every prayer
does not get answered exactly as predicted. I don’t know if there’s one simple
answer to explain that much-debated issue. Still, thankfulness for what is
right in our lives is likely to catch God’s attention and win him to our side. That’s
certainly the case with parents on Earth, isn’t it?
Related Posts
Are you empowering yourself through
gratitude?
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