Unsplash<\/a>\n <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nIt happened again. God used one of my grandchildren to teach and remind me of a wonderful truth about faith and prayer. This time he used my 8-year-old grandson, James, who was sitting next to his other grandmother in church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He looked up at her, noticed her nose running, and asked, “Are you stuffy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,” she responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you have a cold?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another beat went by while he studied her intently. Then he asked, \u201cAre you sad?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d she replied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy are you sad?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause my friend is very sick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCan the doctors and nurses fix her?\u201d he asked. \u201cNo,\u201d she answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To comfort her, he leaned over and hugged her while rubbing her back. Then he stared off into space for a minute and abruptly got up and whispered something in his mother\u2019s ear. Without another word, he ran as fast as he could in search of \u201cMr. Ed,” one of the Elders. He was going to be offering prayer requests to God at the end of the service and James felt the urgency to include his Nana\u2019s friend in those prayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Child-like Faith<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Is it any wonder that Jesus says we must become like little children if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven? (Matthew 18:2-5) James reminded me of this verse. His first instinct, after comforting his grandmother, was to run to God and pray. James believes in the power of prayer and has faith that God hears his prayers. That\u2019s why he goes to him right away. Some call that a \u201cchild-like faith,\u201d but I just call it faith. The faith James acted on is the faith all Christians should have. Unfortunately, there are many of us who say we believe in God and in prayer, but what we say doesn\u2019t always line up with our actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How many times have you and I said, \u201cAll we can do is pray?\u201d Now it may be true that there is nothing more to be done other than pray. However, when we say that, it feels like we are treating prayer as the last resort, instead of our most powerful weapon in battle. Turning to God in prayer should be our first choice, not our last resort. Like James, we should run right away to God in prayer. Too often, we try everything we can in our own power before tapping into God\u2019s power through prayer. Oh, we may pray many quick prayers to God as we deal with the issue, but I believe God wants more than that from us. He wants us to be passionate about approaching Him in prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is Power in Prayer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
God desires us to recognize the power of prayer and be eager to tap into it. He wants us to lay whatever the issue is completely in His hands and have faith in Him to take care of it the best way He sees fit. He will carry our burdens and wants us to bring them all to Him, relieving us of our anxiety and fears. (Philippians 4:6) God knows that when we come to Him in prayer, we will grow closer to Him and experience more of His power in our lives. In short, He knows prayer is good for us. That is why He commands us to be \u201cdevoted to prayer.\u201d (Colossians 4:2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we pray, we bring all of our requests, cares, and concerns to Him, but we must also be sure to bring our thanks as well. Both the verses in Philippians and Colossians include thanksgiving with our prayers. Even during very difficult circumstances, we have much for which to thank God, especially for the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have no shortage of concerns to pray about \u2014 the pandemic, health problems, jobs, our children, family, friends \u2014 and God wants to hear about them all. Follow the example of a little child and put your faith in action. Go on, run to Him. He\u2019s never too busy to listen to your heart, and He\u2019s eager to help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more on prayer click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It happened again. God used one of my grandchildren to teach and remind me of a wonderful truth about faith and prayer. This time he used my 8-year-old grandson, James, who was sitting next to his other grandmother in church. He looked up at her, noticed her nose running, and asked, “Are you stuffy?\u201d \u201cYes,” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":1028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,81,110,123],"tags":[27,14,124],"yoast_head":"\n
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