Prayer

I always thought that by now I would be one of those women who really knew how to pray. After all I've been at it for a long time. But somehow I still feel like a novice with lots to learn... Though I can say I have reason to believe God hears me. Here are two prayer stories from a while back...

We came to live in CA from Spain for a year and since not many of my friends every came to Spain I wanted a CA home that was warm and welcoming. Our rental was furnished with kind donations of church people and it was just fine except for the yellow and black plaid sofa with the heavy wooden arms and back. Ugh. So I decided I would pray for a new sofa. After a couple ugly sofa weeks, Mary Ann called and said to come quick, her neighbor had a sensible green sofa for sale at a garage sale! But alas, when I arrived, it was sold. Disappointed, I grudgingly changed my prayer-- asking God to make me content with the yellow and black sofa. A couple days later, my friend Sue called and asked if we could use her tidy little navy sofa bed! oh joy! I couldn't have been more thankful! So God gave the pretty sofa with a little lesson in contentment thrown in.

In the months before that furlough to CA, we had been a bit short of "work funds" and were hoping the money would come in to help pay for Larry's studies the year we were home. When I would tuck the boys in at night one of things we would pray for was the money for our acccount. But as the weeks went by it never arrived. Finally we packed up our house in Seville and headed up for a couple days of meetings for Larry in Madrid before we flew home. I was wishing the money had appeared, not just for the need, but because I wanted our boys to see God would supply it. The night before we left Spain, Larry came in and said we got a notice that the money had been given to our accounts. Another very thankful moment.

These days I pray. I pray for all the people I love-- health and contentment for our parents, for faith and all the circumstances of life for our kids. I pray with friends for their children, their health scares, their jobs. I pray for the kids I teach--that they would learn and that I would love them well. I pray to grow and be more prayerful and to love God more as my days go by.

"Speak to Him thou for He hears
Spirit with spirit can meet
Closer is He than breathing
And nearer than hands and feel."
--Tennyson