Going to the Lord: The Power of Prayer
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
HOUSTON COUNTY – If you attend any of our local government or school meetings, you will notice one thing they all have in common: a prayer to begin the proceedings. Usually asking for guidance in doing the people’s business, it’s something you would never see in bigger cities, and one of the many aspects that makes Houston County unique.
In our homes, many of us pray together before a meal, asking God to bless the food, thanking Him for our many blessings and asking for His protection. With the recent uncertainty, division and violence in our country, many have been asking God to look out for the American people and get us through a dark phase in our history.
Of course, we have all been guilty of the “panic prayers,” that appeal to God in a tough situation, or promises to live better if only God will get us out of a tight spot. As President Ronald Reagan once brilliantly and correctly said, “As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in school.”
As we look back on our lives, we all thank God for those unanswered prayers – those requests which seemed so important at the time – but we now know would have probably ended up for the worse. Everyone has their regrets in life and asks those, “What if?” questions, but often the things we thought we wanted most would have set us on a path worse than the one we took.
Most Christians (and many non-believers during a crisis) believing in going to God, giving their problems to the Lord and creating that dialog with the Almighty. Each church may vary slightly on the methods – some churches prefer more formal prayers, while others are more casual – but all agree God listens to those who seek Him out.
I was always taught to pray, and believed in it long before recent events proved the power of prayer. But some people have posed interesting questions regarding prayer. If someone gets sick and is in the hospital, everyone prays for him. If he recovers, we say it’s the power of prayer. If he passes away, we say it’s God’s will. If everything, then, is God’s will, does praying actually help? Does God listen to all prayers, even the ones to help our team beat the other team, or only the more important ones? Should we come to God only in praise and gratefulness or to ask Him to help with this, that and the other? Can we gain the wisdom to know what prayers should be answered and which ones we will later be grateful God didn’t answer?
No doubt overthinking the matter and way out of my depth, I turned, as I often do, to some of the men who dedicate their lives to God and help the rest of us get a better understanding – some of our local pastors. I was curious to know their thoughts and seek some guidance from them. They will all admit they are mere mortals, too, and also must go to God for reassurance and to seek wisdom. The Messenger was happy to get some thoughts from Crockett’s Bethel Baptist Church Pastor D. Allison Moffitt, Jr.
The first question was, “What exactly is prayer and what is its purpose?”
“If I’m honest, I think people pray all the time, even people who don’t believe in God,” according to Moffitt. “Ritual prayer is a means of communication with God, where we take time not only to speak to Him, but listen to Him. I believe prayer works even when we think it’s not working, because most people think an unanswered prayer didn’t work. But God did answer those prayers.”
Is there a set form and function for prayer and should we reserve our prayers for the big issues in life?
“There is no right or wrong way to pray and when we spend that time in prayer, God allows us to gain access to information and insight we would not otherwise access,” Moffitt said. “We get the model for prayer in Matthew Chapter Six, ‘The Lord’s Prayer.’”
If everything is in God’s hands and His will will always be done – even if we don’t always understand the reasons – does prayer work?
“If someone is ill, God will either heal them or heal them,” Moffitt explained. “They will heal on this earth or they will die and be healed. Think of prayer as a key ring. On your ring you have many keys: to your home and your car, maybe to a family member’s house in case of an emergency. You have access to all of these places. They are all together on this key ring. And like that ring, prayer holds all of our keys together in life.
“We deal with many circumstances in life, some so difficult and so hard, we can’t figure out how to get out of them. Some are so sweet, we can’t understand why we deserve them,” Moffitt continued. “Prayer holds it together. We pray prayers of thankfulness, for forgiveness and we pray for help when we need it.”
The Messenger has reported and witnessed firsthand, the many times prayer has worked miracles in our community, even when at the time, it didn’t seem to work. It can be frustrating when bad things happen, in spite of prayers, to try and understand how God would allow such things to fall upon good people. One prays for the wisdom to see the bigger picture and how those bad things lead to a greater good.
For an additional take on prayer, please see related story in today’s newspaper.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
