Margaret's son suffered brain damage during infancy. Margaret was unsure how much her son could understand, but despite her uncertainty, she talked to him about God and about Jesus his Savior. She told him Bible stories and prayed with him every day, asking God to help him mature. However, at four years old, the boy still could not speak. But Margaret continued to talk to him, pray with him and be the best parent she should could to him.
One day the boy required correction and discipline and Margaret tried to explain this to the boy, not knowing how much he could grasp. As she grew more frustrated, with tears in her eyes, she said, "What am I going to do with you." At that moment her son spoke. It was hard for her to understand him at first, but he said the words again and again until she realized he was saying, "Pray, Mama!"
The young boy, limited as he was in abilities, had been understanding her valuable lessons all along. He knew of his mother's faith in God. He knew she turned to God when troubled. He knew that God could help his mama, so he said, "Pray, Mama!"
Prayer changes things. It may not fix our problems immediately, nor does it always show us the way we need to take. But prayer changes things. It changes people and it changes situations. We Christians do not believe in fate; we believe in Jesus Christ who urged us to pray and promised to hear us.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 7, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ... Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
Prayer is an act of faith. It changes the heart of the one who prays and it can change the mind of God. Not always, but it can, as we see from examples in the Bible. God wants to hear from us. He loves hearing from us, whether about our own needs or the needs of others.
Pray, my friends!
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