I have found it a rather curious study lately to look into some aspects of prayer throughout Scripture. It is quite confusing at times to be honest. My thought that prayer is something that needs to be sacrificial, early in the morning, and consuming of large portions of time over many days is quite contradicted when I read of Asa. He cried to the LORD, offering up a prayer that takes about 10 seconds (to read). We get no indication that he did this day after day, week after week, month after month. In fact, his prayer comes as a result of an army of "a million men" coming against his army of 580,000 men. And still in this the LORD moved and gave Asa victory (2 Chron. 14:9-15).
So why is it we wait? Why is it some of us have labored in prayer without any resolution to the need before us? Asa simply prayed, "O LORD there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you" (2 Chron. 14:11). It is not even so specific to the need before them of this great army coming against them, and yet the LORD answered in a great way. Many of us have offered "better, more specific, longer" prayers that we have yet to see the Lord answer. But truly it shouldn't surprise us.
Look at the Psalms. You don't have to look far to realize that the psalmists struggled with God, and His timing in regards to prayer. It caused the psalmist in Psalm 42 to expose his innermost turmoil as he can only ask, "Why are you cast down, O my soul?" And in Psalm 44 the psalmist says, "Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Why do you hide your face?"
This is the great mystery of prayer. God's timing will rule. He has greater purposes than just to answer what it is we ask for. I am challenged by this statement recently that I read: "...the goal isn't to get what you want at all. The goal is to figure out what God wants, what God wills." This is one of the great purposes of prayer. God is aligning our will with His perfect will. So embrace the wrestling with God.
Further, He delights to draw us near to Himself in all this. That seems obvious, but it is lost on us when we are just seeking "answers." HE is THE ANSWER to the prayer request we make, nothing less. The psalmist (Sons of Korah) in Psalm 42 (also responsible for 43 and 44) says, "...my soul thirsts for You...for the living God." This is amidst His pursuit of freedom from oppressive enemies. His request is ultimately not for relief to no end, but for GOD HIMSELF. Allow for prayer to draw us nearer to God.
Lastly, it is all about His own glory. The great author A.W. Tozer once said, "Glorify Yourself, at my expense." This is just a more personalized version of "Hallowed be Your Name." And so even when a guy like Joshua led the Israelites over the Jordan River into the Promised Land it was to the ultimate purpose "that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and you may fear the LORD your God forever."
So I pray. God seems to do some wonderfully irregular things on a regular basis for those who regularly pray. We can't predict the when of it all, or even the extent of it all. But hopefully we allow for what remains of 2013 to set in us a greater expectation of what God will do in 2014 even as we pray. "For the eyes of the LORD run to and from throughout the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him" (2 Chron. 16:9).
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