Prayer

How much prayer is too much? Obviously, it is never too much. But do you ever get tired of praying? Well, not really tired of praying, but exhausted from praying about one thing for so long? The bible says “pray without ceasing.” I seem to be better at this. It’s like having a conversation with God throughout the day. Having a counselor available to me 24/7 at no cost is a great perk of having Jesus for a best friend! But, my heart has been heavy about praying for something for years.
I read someone else’s point of view on prayer using bowls as an illustration. Imagine that each unanswered prayer has its own “prayer bowl” up in heaven. When enough prayers had been said, the bowl is filled and the prayer is answered. Having a cold and praying for healing, well, that would be a pretty small prayer bowl. But, think about world peace, or in my case, a loved one’s salvation, well, that would be a much bigger bowl.
I’ve been trying to fill this bowl for the better part of ten years now. I can look back and see that my prayer life has grown much stronger and much more versatile. Trial and error have been my companions, using God’s word as my guide. But today, I’m at the point where I’m exhausted. I wonder if it will ever happen, but it seems like each time I get to this point, God shows me something new.
On two different occasions, both in the last year, I have had two distinct visions about my loved one’s journey. When I say visions, I don’t mean dreams, but while I was awake and either in meditation or deep thought about this, that’s when it was revealed to me. Its instances like this that keep me pressing forward.
God is my father and I am his child. I know he’s teaching me something through this, and it usually involves changing ME! Funny how that works. Today I pray for the self-centeredness to be removed so that God’s love can flow through me, because that’s how God will be revealed. I know God hears my prayers…he’s just not done with ME yet.