Thoughts on Prayer

Nelson is one of the front runners in a national competition in his company. The first prize is very nice and would be very helpful to us. Things were looking very positive until the final day when his competition poured on some last minute sales that no one expected.

It's been the focal point of our prayers over the last few days (more for me and Nelson). The kids pray every day, several times, that "Daddy win his contest." It is very sweet that they will pray on their own. It has also been nice to have something that we are all praying for in unison.

The contest ended Friday and a winner was supposed to be announced Monday. Today they were told it could be the end of the week before the results are announced. So, we continue to pray.

When I called Nelson today to ask if he had heard anything yet, he said he hadn't. I assured him that we would keep praying and that we all love him - win or lose. He said thank you but expressed some concern over the amount of prayer that the kids have put into this. "What if I don't win?" he questioned. "I don't want them to be mad at God for not answering their prayers."

"Well," I told him, "it will be a good lesson for them either way."

Prayer is one of those things I can't think about too much. I mean God knows what's going to happen already. Why do we need to pray? Can we really change God's mind? Still, I pray. I think because prayer is much more about changing our hearts rather than changing God's.

So, no matter the outcome of the contest, the kids will learn something about prayer. They might learn that God hears our prayers and gives us what we want out of the goodness of His heart. On the other hand, they might learn that God's will is not always the same as ours. Either way we know He loves us and wants what's best for us.

And, learning anything at all about God makes the effort worthwhile.