Quit Praying

This is NOT blasphemous in any way whatsoever. I just wanted to put that out there to relieve any doubts or concerns. In my humble opinion, prayer is one of the most powerful weapons that a believer can possess. There are many who doubt the effectiveness of prayer. They doubt for various reasons…maybe it didn’t work out right, maybe that special person passed away anyway, maybe after opening their eyes the situation was worse…whatever the reason, there are those who don’t believe. Based on my previous statements there are two points here. The first point is that this is not for non-believers; I will select a more general topic at another time (sorry). Prayer is a weapon; proper use of any powerful weapon requires training.

Sidebar: I immediately have two thoughts anytime I think of training: Denzel Washington hazing that new officer on the movie “Training Day” and Mr. Miyagi teaching Daniel-san to wax on and wax off.

Back on track… As I stated before, I believe that prayer is a powerful weapon, and proper use of any weapon requires training. In order to get where I’m going we need to examine the training aspect of using this weapon. Preparation for the use of any powerful weapon requires at least three general areas of expertise. You must 1.) be able to physically accomplish the use of the weapon. You must 2.) be mentally equipped to bear the consequences of the use of the weapon. You must 3.) have repetition or experience firing the weapon. Since most of us can bend our knees and close our eyes(answers no.1), are praying for what we feel is right (answers no.2), and cumulatively pray a lot (answers no.3)…there has to be something else to examine.

One of the most overlooked parts of training is the part where progress is monitored and processed. That’s the part where you are not actually doing any training. Maybe it’s rest time, or maybe it’s demonstration time, or it might even be time off. Either way, there is much value when during the training process you are not actually training. Muscles need to repair themselves. Minds and souls need momentary peace and meditation. Strategies must be derived. Corrections must be made.

Because prayer is a lifetime event, training for its use lasts a lifetime. The time spent monitoring progress and assessing growth is actually the time where we see whether or not our prayers have been answered. Many times, in the midst of our prayers, the answer is or has already been presented to us.  The continuation of redundant prayer (training) is less likely to be because of a failure of prayer (training), and more likely to be because of an unwillingness to accept an answer that we did not want. The repetition or experience praying will, over time, be beneficial in the use of the weapon, but since the ultimate determining factor does not belong to the pray-er, if extra reps are required they will be ordered by Him. God heard you the first time. He will listen every time you pray the same prayer, but maybe if you quit praying and look to see if He answered, it is possible to move on to another aspect of your training.

When you pray for someone to treat you right and they belittle and disrespect you, your answer is right there. When you pray for a better job and you remain in place, your answer is there. When you pray for increase and decrease jumps on your back, your answer is there. When you pray for someone to love and no one is remotely interested, your answer is there. It could be because you are not ready for increase. You might not be healed sufficiently to accept a new relationship. A new job may not be in your future (see story about using talents wisely). Your answer may just be to find someone else who will respect you and treat you right. The truth about it is, if you quit praying and look around, your prayers may have already been answered.