journey onWord with us

If prayer was a place, I wonder if most people would note it’s mailing address as the land of wishful thinking. Stop for a minute and consider this for yourself. Every believer knows that they should pray, that the Bible admonishes us to pray, and that even the non-Christian will sometimes call out to God in moments of distress. But how many people pray with a strong view of God’s power, and real confidence that He will answer? Or is it more typical that our prayers are words spoken in a heavenly direction out of a sense of obligation or wishful thinking (although we certainly wouldn’t admit it), without much confidence in the outcome?

Earlier this week, my daughter asked me to pray about a big professional issue in her life. I reminded her how we had seen God answer before. Only a few days later, it seems her answer has come. Then this morning about five o’clock, I realized that another big family prayer request had been answered. I could tell you that I am a prayer warrior, but I often struggle with prayer’s address being that land of wishful thinking. The verse of a song from my childhood is great counsel for my prayer life, and I hope it can be for yours.

Got any rivers you think are uncrossable;
Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?
God specializes in things tho’t impossible;
He does things others cannot do.

excerpt from Got Any Rivers, Oscar C. Eliason, copyright 1945

You, no doubt, have some uncrossable rivers before you right now, and so do I. There may even be a mountain or two of difficulty staring you right in the face. When we are not firm and steadfast in our view of God’s power, impossibilities look, well … impossible. The old song says that God specializes in things that are “impossible”. Can we believe it, or are those words just wishful thinking? Experience has taught me that those who pray earnestly with confident faith see God do “things others cannot do.” Are you ready to experience Him doing that in your life?

The prophet Jeremiah affirmed our assertion …

Jeremiah 32:17
Ah Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

Those words don’t sound like wishful thinking to me. They sound like blocks of granite you can build your prayer life upon? While those words are certain, our times of prayer often don’t reflect that certainty. Later in chapter 32, the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah …

Jeremiah 32:27
I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?

Jeremiah prayed it, God affirmed it, and let’s just be simple enough to believe it. Nothing is too hard for God!

Is your prayer life firmly rooted in that truth? Are there rivers or mountains in your life right now that you don’t want to bother Him with, or you don’t really believe He can do something about?  If you are anything like me, there are times that I get it. Those times are special and quite profound. They are times of river crossings and mountain passes. There is no wishful thinking in the truth of God’s Word, and there should be none in our prayer lives. Nothing is too hard for Him. Believe it and pray like it!

I am glad God woke me before 5:00 am to remind me He answers prayer!