Prayer

Prayer. Hmm. I don’t think I really believe in it. What I mean is, if I really believed like I said I believed, I would pray more. Which reveals something about me. I don’t pray enough. I wish I prayed more. But I don’t. Not now.

There was a time when prayer dominated my life. I saw God do radical things. When I was in my late teens, still living at home with my folks, I had been deeply moved by the pain of friends of mine that had been abused as children. I love children. Even more so now that I have had children of my own.

There was one friend in particular that I was telling how awful it was that people would abuse their own children. She then confided in me that her own dad had abused her when she was younger. It was like being punched in the stomach. Why? It hurt me so much to see her have to carry that kind of a burden. I, at that young age, was not equipped to do much for her but listen.
Later, when I was on my own, I spent time in prayer. I pleaded with God to heal her. To help her. Would God please ease her pain.

Then a thought struck me. At that very moment, there were awful things being done to other children. And I started to weep. I cried like a baby for the pain that was being committed at that very moment.

From the depth of my soul I cried out to God, “Would You please, please, please use me to rescue at least one child in my life time. O God. Use me to rescue at least one hurting child.”

We lived on a street called Sunset Drive. It was a residential neighborhood that was nestled on a rolling hill in Vista, CA. The road had no sidewalks. It just meandered around corners with house rising up and away from the road on one side, while the houses dropped down the side of the hill on the other side of the road. Not a lot of room for walking on the road, even though we did it all the time as I grew up there. Thank God for twenty-five mile-an-hour speed limits.

One late afternoon, not long after my prayer time, a little girl came walking down the side of the road in front of my house. When I say little girl, understand toddler. She was about three-years-old. She wasn’t dressed to be outside, nor was she wearing shoes. And she looked confused. I was concerned.

I went out the front door and looked both ways down the street. There was no attending parent within sight.

I approached the little girl. “Hi, there. Do you know where your mother is?”

She tried to say something about trying to find her mom. So I picked her up, and looked both ways once again. Absolutely no one.

My mother had come outside by now and we consulted what to do. Because the little girl had pointed down the street saying she lived that way, I told my mom that I was going to drive the girl down the street and see if she could point out her home.

So I took the girl into my van(I know, this sounds creepy taking a little girl into my van. I am not a creaper!). We drove down the street about a mile and she finally pointed at a house as being hers. If this was really her house, then this little girl had walked a mile down a busy road all alone! I knocked on the closed screen door. The real door was ajar. No answer. There was a noise coming from inside, like ruffling sheets. But nothing else.

Back into my van we went. When I got home, my mom and I called the sheriff. Within ten minutes a sheriff had arrived. I went through my story with him and told him of the house where the girl said she lived. We climbed into the front seat of his car and went to investigate.

While I waited in the car with the little girl, the sheriff knocked on the door. No answer. He unbuckled his gun, and put his hand on the gun's grip, and entered the house. A moment later he was back at the door and waving me to come in.

In the room was another unattended baby standing in a crib. The room smelled of urine and dirty diapers. This baby was less than ten months old. The sheriff didn’t want to deal with a dirty baby, so he took the little girl from me, and I had to get the baby from the crib.
After checking with the neighbors, he found out the single mother’s name. The sheriff knew her. She was a prostitute and druggie. She had left the children all day to fend for themselves so she could do some trix to get her fix. Apparently, she did this often.

We went back to my house with both children. My mom changed the diapers of the infant. Nasty inflamed rash. Both children went into child protective services. Mother had child neglect charges filed against her.

God had answered my prayer. He rescued two children from an abusive home and neglectful home. And God used me! Prayer is so important.

At least it used to be. I used to pray like that, and God used to answer like that. But somehow, over the years, things changed. I got busy. I got self reliant. I don’t have the same passion. The same commitment. The same yearning to meet with God. I have the a nagging feeling that I ought to pray more, but I don’t ever quite get there now.

I guess this is a bit of a confession. I know what I used to do, and I know what I no longer do. I know how I used to see God move, and I know how I wish for that still.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting that God is like some kind of soda machine that if you pump the quarters in, then you’ll get results. But if you don’t put anything in, then God is inactive. Quite the contrary. God is working always. The difference is that I am not as tuned into God and His activities like I used to be. That is what I prayer does, it tunes me into the same station as He is. Prayer gets me on board with what He is already doing.

Look at what the Bible has to say about prayer:

Be still, and know that I am God… Psalm 46:10

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 6:6-8

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Mark 10:27

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:18-19

My favorite part of those last two verses are two words, “He hears…” God hears our every word when we pray. God hears!

I think I want to change my mind. I do believe in prayer. I do believe that God wants to work in my life through prayer. Now, I want to change my actions. I am going to get on board with God. Prayer is going to be more dominant in my life. I want to draw near to the One that wants to draw near to me. Lets pray.

A Few Q's for You
Are you happy with your prayer life?

Do you see God as wanting to spend time with you?

Will you join me in starting a commitment to prayer?