“Why didn’t you pray for yourself, Mom?”
My daughter and I were laying in bed together praying and, when we were finished, she asked me this question. I don’t remember exactly how I responded to her but her response really hit me. She said, “That’s okay. I prayed for you.”
I was struck by the simplicity and faith of my daughter’s response. She didn’t hear me pray for myself, so she did it. I felt this was a beautiful, loving response from my daughter to what she felt was my omission but, more than this, it was the example of her simple faith that really spoke to me. I had mentioned earlier in the evening that I hadn’t been feeling well. When I didn’t pray for myself, she did, and she believed her prayer would be answered.
James 5:13-18 talks about the prayer of faith. Verse 13(a) reads, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.” There is beauty and comfort in this verse. We all suffer at times, for a variety of reasons. We complain, we worry, we talk to other people – but do we pray? The verse doesn’t say “if you are suffering, go and worry” or “go and complain about what is wrong to everyone you meet.” It tells us to pray.
God does answer prayer. His answer may not always be when or what we are expecting, but He hears us. He HEARS us. The God who made the universe hears my daughter when she prays for me. He hears you when you pray for yourself and your loved ones. If that is not enough, and even more profoundly, He wants to hear from us. Not just our sorrows and pain, but our thanksgiving and our praises too. He loves us and, in faith, we can pray knowing that He is here to comfort us in our sorrow, meet us in our need, and accept our praises as we celebrate His goodness.
In verses 17 and 18 we have an example of how Elijah prayed in faith for something very specific. First he prayed that it would not rain, and it did not rain for three years and six months. Then he prayed that it would rain and it did, and the earth sprang back to life.
We may not always know how to pray as specifically as Elijah, but we can still pray in faith, in the belief that God will meet us where we are and grant us what we need to accomplish His will for our lives.
