Pray First!

Boom! A terrible storm plowed through our neighborhood and the last of the thunder seemed to put the exclamation mark on our evening. Even with a power outage, I somehow managed to create a delicious dinner and everyone was hungry.  Looking across the table at my six year old son,  I asked, “Mikey, can you you pray a blessing over this food?” The phone rang abruptly and my husband relayed the recorded message from the utility company to us. “The power is out for at least another two hours,” he complained. “Include that one in your prayer, Mike.” 

We all stretched out our arms to hold hands, bowed our heads, and he began to pray. “Bless this food and thank you for it, Jesus.” Mikey added, “Oh yeah, and please turn the lights back on RIGHT NOW. AMEN!” On the last word, he let go of our hands and slammed his palms hard on the table. Boom! It wasn’t thunder this time! It was electricity! The lights came back on and we sat wide-eyed staring at each other in shock. Immediately our dinner table erupted in laughter! Our family believed in the power of prayer, but this surprise power restoration fueled our amazement and delight. My husband chuckled, “Well, God said let there be light, and there was light! Mikey, I guess you have a direct connection!” It was a memory our family will never forget.

Unfortunately, the incidents of immediate answers to prayer are not as frequent as we would like them to be. God is not operating in the same mode as Amazon Prime these days. Besides, prayer is not just sending up our wishlist to heaven. He wants more than our requests; He wants a relationship. God calls us to seek Him first and His righteousness, not just His hand of blessing. What’s amazing is that the more we experience this dynamic unconditional love relationship with God, the more we will want to seek Him! 

Our family once listened to a recording of a Nigerian pastor who preached a sermon on prayer. The pastor spoke a few sentences and then shouted, “Who can tell what God will do when you pray?” The whole sermon continued on and on like that! He preached line after line, but always repeated that question. By the end of the message, those words were echoing in our ears and branded on our minds. Who can tell what God will do when you pray? It became our verbal challenge to one another whenever we faced a daunting task or emergency situation. But you know what’s crazy?  When we encounter the everyday moments of stress or worry, prayer is often our last resort! When we serve such a powerful God, why don’t we pray first?

In this day of problems, pandemics, and politics the words of the apostle Paul encourage us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God…” And the promise immediately follows (Boom!)  “…and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6, 7). An old hymn titled “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” reminds us, “Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

We need to make praying first a conditioned reflex to the routine problems we face so we can live a life of intimacy and peace in His Presence. A normal reflex comes naturally, like when your hand touches a hot stove. But a conditioned reflex is a learned response. It’s like riding a bike; it takes practice. If we can learn to respond to the simple everyday challenges we face by first making a u-turn to God in prayer, our hearts and minds will be guarded and protected. How often do we lose our peace because we don’t first turn to God in prayer?

What are some daily challenges? A lost wallet, a canceled appointment, a personal insult, or interrupted phone call can all qualify for the problems we encounter that eat away at our peace like termites on wood. We have a choice how we handle the stresses of life. A power outage can be a burdensome inconvenience or an opportunity for prayer. A turn towards prayer is a turn towards God. Who can tell what God will do when you pray? Will you pray first?