Prayer Puzzles
by Ted Slater on 05/07/2009 at 4:45 PM
Today is the National Day of Prayer, an annual national reminder to reflect on our need for the Lord, and on His care for us. Its history is remarkable:
Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued through our history, including President Lincoln's proclamation of a day of "humiliation, fasting, and prayer" in 1863. In 1952, a joint resolution by Congress, signed by President Truman, declared an annual, national day of prayer. In 1988, the law was amended and signed by President Reagan, permanently setting the day as the first Thursday of every May. Each year, the president signs a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day. Last year, all 50 state governors plus the governors of several U.S. territories signed similar proclamations.
To be honest, I find prayer to be a mystery. On one hand, the One to whom we are praying is a loving and attentive Father, who cares for us and responds to our requests. On the other hand, He is all-wise and unchanging: the same yesterday, today and forever. Ultimately, I suppose, prayer is about communion with the Creator.
Back in 2001 we published a great conversation-starter of an article on prayer. Because you might overlook it, I'm republishing it tomorrow. I'm looking forward to keeping up with the conversation it starts....
1. obewan said the following at 7:33 AM on May 8:
I have mixed feelings about the "National" day of prayer. On the one hand, I like that churches have an annual prayer day. Our church is going to be open all day for prayer, and we wrote prayer requests on post-it pads and put them up on the wall.
However, having "public prayers" in the National Cathedral sometimes bothers me. They are not the type of exclusive Christian prayer that I would offer up to God. To prevent offending, we offer up Jewish and Muslim prayers. I am not sure we should be praying with those of other faiths, but rather we should come out from among them. But, what can we expect in a nation founded on principles of Freemasonry.
2. Jason said the following at 9:52 AM on May 8:
While yes, prayer is about communion with God, I think it is good to not underestimate or diminish the effect our prayer has on the course of the world. Without getting into a detailed topic on the soveriegnty of God, what I find puzzling is that though God is unchanging, the same yesterday, today, and forever there are instances where the prayer of a single individual or group of individuals seemed to change His mind.
3. Sarah P. said the following at 10:56 AM on May 8:
Jason (#2), I am not sure it's a good idea to say that our prayers can "change" God's mind. As a being outside of time, God has one unchanging will for all of time. We only get to see one instant of it, however. For example, I am single now and I am praying for my future husband. When/if I am married some day, will God have "changed" His mind? Not at all. That will be His will for that time, just as it is His will that I be single now.
4. obewan said the following at 11:22 AM on May 8:
#3. Sarah P. had the following to say on May 8 at 10:56 AM:
"Jason (#2), I am not sure it's a good idea to say that our prayers can "change" God's mind."
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That raises a good point. There is an excellent article on prayer in Christianity Today this month. It covers the most famous medical prayer experiments of all time. These studies were done over 10 or 12 years with thousands of hospital patients.
The bad news was that there was absolutely zero correlation between prayer and improved health for the patients who were prayed for, and in some cases they actually got worse (maybe due to psychological impact of being "bad off" enough to warrant prayer).
The good news was that God is sovereign anyway, and through prayer, some find the connection to God that brings comfort. Prayer should always be made in the context of "IF the Lord WILLS..."
5. BDB said the following at 1:46 PM on May 8:
I'm thinking Prayer Sudoku...
6. Rachael said the following at 6:13 PM on May 9:
From the article: "But doesn't having to ask Him for what we think we need help us to learn what we really need? "
That would be neat, or it would be neat if it reminded us of our needs and that God knows those needs and that His grace is sufficient. It would be neat if I had more grattitude for the 'above and beyond' and for the basic needs that He's already met. What I want and hope for is often different from what I 'need'. Perhaps, people's "needs" can be overrated...