My Mother's Prayers

No matter what your level of faith is, people in prison are always asking for prayer. It's a common request due to parole eligibility timelines and difficulties associated with prison. Now a days, we use prayer as demands or wishes to fulfill our earthly needs with God's purposes far from our minds.

I had an inmate named ## come up to me and ask me to pray for him and his parole hearing, which is coming up soon. Then he said, "Let's hope God answers our prayers and I'll be home soon." This statement got me thinking about how God answers our prayers. We think that if things don't go the way we planned that God did not answer our prayers. But He always answers and I hope ## understands that if he gets a "hit" that it doesn't mean God ignored his prayers. Likewise, with all of the prayers, how are we praying and for whose benefit, ours or God's? It's only natural to want the best results when we pray, but if the results don't favor our requests, how do we respond?


From personal experience, my mother is a praying woman, and these are a few of her specific prayers that she prayed for me and my brothers: May they walk in a manner worthy of their calling, may their measure of faith grow to full fruition, may no weapon be formed against them be able to prosper, that you, oh Lord, would be their front and rear guard, that you would uphold them in your righteous right hand, they that would be wild at heart for you, and lead purpose driven lives." My mother told me that is a prayer she has been praying verbatim for years and years. My current situation? Well not exactly the answer to those prayers-- or is it?

As I read each line of that prayer, I can see God's answer to every request in my life today. Just when we think a prayer isn't being answered because we are blind- sided by a result or event, we need to understand that God always answers prayers. He is always listening, and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Sometimes His answer comes by way of trials and tribulations, so I press on toward the goal in Christ Jesus. When our prayers don't turn out the way we asked, ask Him for the way through prayer.