Please Hold While We Connect You

A lot of times when someone says, "I'll pray for you." we just kind of shrug that off as something that good little Christians say to one another. But what are we really saying? Think of it this way: What if you were telling someone about a problem you were having, and they said, "Well, here, let me call the president for you, and I'll see what he can do." How would you feel about that? And yet, here we are praying to someone infinitely more wise and powerful than the president, and we think of it as no big deal, or as a last resort. Do we realize what we are doing? Do we see that we are bringing our case before the All-Powerful Ruler of the Universe? We have lost the awe in prayer.
But He told us to pray without ceasing, didn't He? Isn't it natural for something we do that often to lose some of its luster? I don't think it has to be. And that's ignoring the fact that none of us pray nearly as much as we should. We would just be in awe all the time. And why not? Our God is awe inspiring, and He never changes.
So prayer should be a mix of the awful and familiar. On the one hand, yes, we should never lose sight of the fact that when we pray we are approaching the Throne of God Himself. And He is there, listening. Actually listening. Right where you are right now, if you pray to Him, He will hear you. And He wants us to pray to Him, to talk to Him. So much so that He did indeed tell us to pray without ceasing. And He will always listen, and answer. I don't believe there is such a thing as an unanswered prayer. Just sometimes the answer is, "No." or maybe, "Wait." Just because you didn't get what you thought you wanted in the way that you thought you needed it right when you thought you had to have it doesn't mean that God didn't hear you.
But this mighty God, this great Judge, who said He was like a consuming fire, told us to come boldly before this Throne of Grace. That's because He is also the Great Shepard, our Father and Friend.
So talk to Him. He's there waiting on you. And He'll never miss your call.