Praying Always

Read Ephesians 6:10-20

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.
-0Ephesians 6:18 (NRSV)

AT a busy city intersection, my wife and I waited to cross the road. I pressed the button for the pedestrian walk sign once, twice, half a dozen times.

"Why did you do that?" asked my wife. "Once is enough. You are not going to speed anything up by doing it again and again."

"I know," I replied, "but it makes me feel better."

Her question made me think of one of my own "whys." The Bible encourages us to pray with confidence, knowing that our requests are heard. But it also tells us to pray constantly. I have wondered why, but I have concluded that prayer is so much in the realm of mystery that I cannot expect to understand. Nevertheless I try.

Prayer is as much for me as it is for God. Though I would like to think that the world is different because I pray, I know that all I can do is rely on God and simply pray in faith. But regardless of what happens in the world outside me, when I pray, something happens within me. Not only do I feel better, but I am also changed by the experience. Sometimes I don't want to pray about a problem that is troubling me, and I resist. When I pray, God sorts out my motives. Then the world seems different because I am different, and I am more confident in leaving the final answers to God.

Bill Adams (Queensland, Australia)