I Prayed About It and Nothing Changed

We have all prayed hard about something for weeks. We ask, and we wait, and the thing we want God to change stays exactly the same.

You pray about it first thing in the morning, again on your lunch break, and once more in bed before you fall asleep.

That's when the thought starts to creep in.

Maybe you're talking to a ceiling.

Prayer can work like being the friend who only calls when he needs something.

You get them on the phone, you say what you need, you get it, and you're gone.

You never ask how they're doing. That's not why you call.

That's how most of us learned to pray.

Say the need and hang up.

Read the first words Jesus gives when the disciples ask Him how to pray. Our Father.

He doesn't start with the need. He starts with who is in the room.

Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.

Jesus walks you all the way through who your Father is and what your Father wants before He ever lets you ask Him for a piece of bread.

The bread still comes. He teaches you to ask for it in the very next line.

The asking was never the problem.

One night the man who taught this prayer prayed the hardest prayer anyone has ever prayed:

"And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."

Matthew 26:39 (KJV)

He asked.

He was on His face in the dirt with sweat coming off Him like drops of blood, and He asked His Father to change the circumstance.

The circumstance did not change.

They came for Him with torches a few hours later. By morning He was nailed to a Roman cross. Every sin you've ever whispered about in the dark was laid into His body.

God told His own Son no that night. He heard every word Jesus prayed, and He still said no, because the only way to say yes was to call the whole rescue off. He let His Son go through it so that you could be His. That is why you get to call Him Father at all.

You've been the friend who only calls when he needs something. God has been your Father the whole time, waiting for you to stay.

Read what Paul says comes back to a man who asks:

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV)

In every thing, let your requests be made known.

Paul isn't telling you to ask for less. He wants you to bring every bit of it to your Father.

He promises the peace of God, standing guard over your heart and your mind.

God answers.

Sometimes He changes what you asked about, sometimes He changes the man doing the asking, and He's never stopped caring about either one.

Here's how to pray about it today:

1. Start where Jesus started.

Say Father before you say the need. The God who made everything is listening to you by name. Sit with that for a second and let it be true before you ask Him for anything.

2. Ask Him for what you need.

Say it plainly and say all of it. Your Father isn't annoyed by the request, and He can handle the honest ones. Jesus asked for the cup to pass. You can ask.

3. Stay after you ask.

This is the part we skip. We say amen and go back to our day like we just hung up the phone. Stay there a minute after you ask. Tell Him you trust Him with the answer, and mean it even on the days the answer isn't the one you wanted.

PRAYER

Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

I've been coming to You only when I need something, and leaving before I ever looked at Your face.

Thank You that You've never once told me to come back later.

Thank You that Jesus asked You for the cup to pass, and stayed when You didn't take it.

Today I'm bringing You all of it, and I'm not leaving when I'm finished asking.

Change whatever You want to change, and start with me.

Guard my heart and my mind while I wait on You.

I trust You with the answer either way.

In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.