The little wall plaque says, “Prayer changes things.” But even more importantly, it changes me. There is such a thing as predestined circumstances, which all the prayer in the world cannot and will not change. But though some things in life are as settled as cement, God intended for his children to be as supple as a good leather glove. And it’s only by prayer we become pliable.
I’m afraid one of the undesirable traits I received from my mother, who raised me, was to be a habitual worrier. Rather than sing, “Why worry when you can pray,” my natural temperament would be to change the lyrics to, “Why pray when you can worry.” God’s sacred sedative for such people is to be found only in prayer. It’s our divine tranquilizer.
Portions of two of my favorite songs say it better than I ever could: “Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” And the second is like unto it, “Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.”
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