prayer

When I graduated from college I had wanted to settle in Austin, TX to begin my career as a dental hygienist. I had fond memories of a spring weekend there in 1972, a pleasant day at Zilker Park, cool evening breezes at an outdoor evening dance… But I was offered a job in my home town, working for my family dentist, so I moved into a very nice apartment and settled in for a happy life. My boss was a very good man, I admired him very much and often thought how God must be a lot like him (or the other way around).

I had been working for him about three years, during which time I bought Flossy and moved into a bigger apartment. Life was going really great for me. But things weren’t going so well for my brother. He was at quite a low point in his life, struggling with many problems, not all of his own making. Of course, as a loving and compassionate sister, he was in my prayers constantly and I began praying that some of his burden could be given to me to bear; things were going so well for me, I felt strong, I could help him get through this…

But as things were resolved in his life, things began to fall apart in mine. It began when my boss got cancer then died; it continued with a new job and a new boss quite lacking in ethics and the moral issues it created for me…

I began to wonder if I had made a mistake in praying for burdens to bear. What was I thinking? While my prayers had been answered, I wasn’t so sure I had been praying for the right things… I realized that prayer is a very powerful thing, and I had much to learn about how it works.

Prayer is work; it takes a lot of effort to be in tune with God’s will, to figure out what to pray for. To be casual with this power is unwise; we must always have the attitude of “thy will be done”. I have learned that nothing is too great or too small to take to Him in prayer; even a simple “help me” will be honored and answered. I have learned to be specific about our needs, and I have learned always to express gratitude. I have learned that God answers our prayers in very unusual ways. His timing is perfect; it can be immediate or take many years. I have learned to trust in His goodness and His wisdom, he really does know the end from the beginning and has our best interests in mind.

And I have learned to be careful what I pray for…