June 2026, Prayer #2

Prayer is not a “magic” formula to make God do something. It’s not like a vending machine where if we put the perfect words in, we always get the expected result. No, it’s more like when we go to God with the right attitude, we can confidently expect God to respond with all that is best for a particular situation.

Part of that right attitude includes honesty and humility before God. It’s important to be honest with our Source; if you’re angry, disappointed, or frustrated by what God is doing (or not doing), please say so in prayer! Working to help survivors can be confusing sometimes, and they may do things that sometimes we don’t understand; we can cry out about that in prayer too.

Then the humility comes in when we add, after the honesty, something like “But God, I want to trust you with this situation even though I don’t understand.” Base your prayers in scripture that reflects Jesus’ attitude: “I want to live in Jesus’ love and make choices that are loving and godly. Please help me do that.” (John 15:4) “Please help me believe that you will eventually turn evil into good for this person.” (Romans 8:28) “Please fill me with hope. I need your help because I can’t keep going on my own.” (Romans 15:13)