I did it again.
I was reading a sad news story and decided to do the unwise thing of looking through the comment section. And naturally there began a chain comment mocking God.
This time it was an attack on prayer. The person said, “Instead of praying, why don’t you do something that works?”
A foolish statement.
I thank the Lord that He granted me the wisdom and the maturity not to respond. He helped me not to get upset and respond to this man’s comment. This man was trying to hurt believers and get them angry but instead of that he actually received many replies from Christians who did not respond with anger but instead corrected him with love. Hopefully some see the loving replies he received and realize the Light that comes from Christianity when someone tries to be hateful and dark.
When it comes to his effect on me he ended up inspiring me to write this blog so it appears his comments have done the opposite of what he intended.
One mistake people make is they act as if prayer is an “instead of” option. If a fire breaks out no Christian is saying pray only and don’t send the firemen. We are praying for the fireman and the victims of the fire. We are praying for strength, protection, comfort and guidance. We are praying to the Lord for help.
It’s a silly thing to mock, besides I’ve never heard someone say in response, “Thank you for mocking those who prayed.”
Instead you hear, “Thank you for all the thoughts, kind words and prayers.”
Prayers uplift a person, telling someone they’re being prayed for shows that people out there care.
So why do these people mock prayer?
Because if God isn’t guiding their heart, satan is, he knows the power of prayer and wants the believer to stop it and give up a crucial part of our relationship with God.
Truth is there wasn’t much of a point for me to respond to that man, he had taken it upon himself to ridicule those who did respond to him. In this moment his heart and mind are made up he was enjoying mocking Christians and God. Our brothers and sisters had planted a seed in his brain but by his own free will he rejects God and refuses to open his mind and heart to the Lord. Sadly he and others like him think these thoughts are their own but truth is they come from satan and they’re being used by him.
The skeptic presents an argument where they attack the effectiveness of prayer but no believer has a chance to win that argument. Because the skeptic has placed unreasonable demands on the believer.. They refuse to believe the testimony of the believer but they themselves cannot test the power of prayer because they lack faith, so therefore the argument by human standards in unwinnable. That doesn’t mean you should give up, talk to them and share your story, treat them with love. The argument possibly could be a pointless endeavor but your story is not.
God knows your story and wants you to tell it, He loves you and sees what you’re trying to do. Keep up the good work.
Now the skeptic may also bring up a time in which they did pray and the prayer supposedly wasn’t answered. But the truth is ALL prayers are answered. But sometimes the answer is “no” or maybe even “not yet.”
Just because you did not get what you asked for doesn’t mean your prayer was unanswered.
God is our Father and just like any good parent He doesn’t give His children everything they want.
God knows what is best and that is why we pray by God’s will not our own.
So that leads to the question what do you do with a person who mocks God and rejects the Gospel? Someone who refuses to have an open conversation and talk with you?
You do what they mock, you pray.
You pray and continue to be the light in the darkness.
Who knows that person might accept the Lord into their heart and they could be praying for you someday.
Wouldn’t that be something?
So how do we end this entry? What better way than the Lord’s Prayer…
Matthew 6:9-13 New King James Version (NKJV)
“9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
[a]For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Have a Blessed Week,
Chris
Sources:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A9-13&version=NKJV
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