Does prayer work?
A short question. A simple question...a loaded question. As a life-long Christian my knee-jerk response is an emphatic yes. I have cumulatively spent years praying. It has been my fundamental resource in times of hurt & helplessness; it has been my outlet in times of joy & gratitude; it has been my idle-minded default when I've found myself with nothing else to do & I recoil at the notion that it might all have been time wasted: just words spoken in to the wind, thoughts as aimless as any others with no life outside of my head; hopes unfounded.
So I want to cry yes, of course prayer works.
The more I consider the question, however, the more I toss & turn over what it means; the more I wonder what the question really is, & the more I fret that it betrays an understanding of prayer, & an attitude thereto, that is, amongst other things, limited & limiting. So often, 'did your prayer work?' or 'did God answer?' translates as 'did you get what you wanted?'
The distilled essence of prayer is a simple, pure spirit; no less than a conversation with the Almighty. I wonder what Adam prayed about? I wonder what his conversations with God were like? To what did they pertain? Perhaps, with no needs to bring before God, he would simply have shared the story of his day? Perhaps he would simply have listened or just enjoyed the silent company of his Father?
So does God answer my prayers? Well...a lot of them aren't questions; a lot of them aren't words at all. But most Christians are comfortable here, familiar with, and practitioners of, the idea that prayer should involve listening & thanksgiving, that God is interested in our everyday, that He likes it when we just spend time with Him & meditate on His word. But what of petitionary prayer? Our world is far from how it should be & it is part of the human condition to ask for our needs to be met, indeed we are so encouraged to do:
'You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.' JOHN 14: 14
'Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;...' PSALM 55: 22 (partial)
But a good, good Father doesn't give His children everything they ask for. Sometimes he sees the motivation behind the question & answers that. Sometimes we want a clear word & we get a piece of music or poetry.
Sam Harris has said some remarkable things. Here's a video of him speaking at Harvard University's Institute of Politics:
By all means watch the whole thing, but for the sake of pertinence, jump ahead to about 1:01:45. Here is an attitude both limited & limiting. The story of God's relationship with His creation, from the very beginning, has been one of partnership & mutual participation. Look at the very beginning. It was man's role to subdue & steward the earth:
'And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful & multiply & fill the earth & subdue it..."'
GEN 1: 28 (partial)
Now, living under a new covenant, I am invited to partake in the remaking of creation, to carry the good news with me into dark places. There was never intended a world where we sit back, pray for all the things we want & watch as God runs around at our beck & call. We are a Holy people in whom lives the very Spirit of God, who is indeed God himself. And he equips us & enables us in all manner of ways to all manner of things for His glory.
Jesus declared that He had come that we might have life to the full
'...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.' JOHN 10: 10 (partial)
A full life is not one of passivity, of distant observation or entitled demands. A full life is one of participation, of intimate involvement & humble service. The pilot who says he will land a plane on prayer alone has the answer to that prayer in his hands & mind, in his training & hard-won expertise.
Take part in your life in this world. We are citizens of Heaven, not of earth. Bring Heaven down, allowing God's love & presence & His answers to prayer to flow through you, through your involvement & relationships on earth. Know that you are so loved & all that doesn't make sense now will one day be known fully, & seen clearly.