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Lutheran Life 15 Q: What encouragement would you give some- one who hasn't seen God answer their prayer? A: God's answer is already here, at least in part. At the end of a day, when I've prayed for something to get fixed or changed, I'm tempted to say to God, "I asked and asked, but nothing hap- pened. You didn't do any- thing." I can imagine God putting an arm around my shoulder and saying, "Well, Dan, we worked on your patience, didn't we?" Yes, that is always being worked on. So maybe the real answer is what's happening in me. Maybe the gifts of prayer include our patience, trusting without having to see the whole plan. The gift of prayer leads me to more thanksgiving than asking. Those changes are happening right now, along with a strengthened relationship with God. He knows when and how to bring us the things that we're seeking, but we don't have to wait to be active with God in prayer. Q: If God's will is always done anyway, why bother praying at all? A: We pray to be a part of the conversation with God. In an ordinary relationship, not every conversation changes our situation. In fact, so often someone simply wants to talk. Talking makes it better, even if nothing changes. This is also true of our relationship with our Father. We're better when, in our prayers, we're re- minded that He is always with us with His promises. God is at work before and beyond our prayers. So let's pray to give Him thanks for that unseen work. Let's pray to ask for the wisdom to recognize His work that's around us. Let's pray to ask what He wants us to do. Let's be willing children who know that our Father can do all His work without us, but let's be glad that He invites us to be a part of that work by our prayers. Q: What tool, spiritual discipline, or practice would you encourage someone to apply to their prayer life? A: I think that the flood of forgiveness is the place to start. Remember that God has already forgiven us, having reconciled the world unto Himself through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We've received this forgiveness by faith, and so we're at peace with God. That peace gives us the boldness to come without ex- cuses for ourselves and comparisons with others. We're forgiven people, standing without fear in His presence. Then, given this firm foundation, we can go beyond ourselves. Praying for the people near us is invigorat- ing since there are so, so many. Pray for the stranger in the car next to you. Pray for the family that lives in the house that surely needs some repairs. Pray for the teachers you had and never fully thanked for what they did. Pray for the mother and her daughter who just rode bikes past you. The world is waiting for us to notice and pray. Q: Anything else you'd like to share on the topic of prayer? A: Look at a list of what God has in mind for us, such as Colossians 3:12–17 or 2 Peter 1:5–7. Those wonderful lists remind us to grow in faith, patience, thanksgiving, peace, and forgiveness. Those lists remind me of my father, who was a wonderful mechanic. Dad would visit us while we were restoring our old Ford Model T and Model A. Every day, Dad would come downstairs in his overalls, get a cup of coffee, and say, "So what are we going to work on today, Danny?" What we worked on didn't really matter. A carburetor, a water pump, or wheel bearings were all good. It was working togeth- er that mattered. So, imagine our heavenly Father coming to you today and saying, "So what should we work on today?" Or imagine you asking that question. "So, Father, what needs work today—patience, thanks- giving, forgiveness, or wisdom?" Prayer is asking our heavenly Father to show us our needs and His plans and riches. w Amy Bird is a child of God and wife of Aaron. She holds an MA in systematic theology from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and is continually amazed at how precisely God's Word speaks to life today. About This Issue's Author The world is waiting for us to notice and pray.

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