There’s an old saying: ‘It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.’ I think this also applies to what should you consider when you pray?
People usually use that saying when talking about things like home or car insurance. In the same way, it’s better to pray for a better day tomorrow than not to pray at all. Even if your prayers aren’t always answered, you should keep praying.
A verse in the Bible, Isaiah 38:5, reads something like this: “A man named Hezekiah had been praying to live longer. A message appeared to Isaiah, telling him to go and tell Hezekiah that the Lord had heard his prayers and would add 15 more years to his life.
Hezekiah was given 15 more years because he was faithful and prayed to live longer. But he could have prayed and not received more time. In the end, it’s up to God to answer prayers and decide what’s best for us.
If you have a loved one who is very sick or has been in a serious accident, you might pray for them to get better. If they don’t recover, try not to be angry with God or stop praying, even if things didn’t turn out as you hoped.
When we pray for something, we should let God know that if it’s not his will, we don’t want it. Matthew 6:10 says, “Your kingdom comes, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Sometimes we forget to add, “Your will be done, not mine.”
I encourage you to include that phrase in your prayers again. No matter what you ask for, your prayers won’t be answered if it isn’t God’s will. Sometimes, we even try to find a different verse if we don’t like what one says.
Have you ever prayed for something that didn’t happen? It might be because it wasn’t God’s will for you. When you pray, do you say to God, “If it is your will, let it be done?”
Many Christians now use the phrase from Luke 11:9, ‘Ask and you will get what you ask for,’ instead of Matthew 6:10. This can make it seem like we’ll always get what we pray for. But if you don’t receive what you asked for, don’t be upset with God.
It’s hard to say, but if people always heard the truth, churches might be empty. Many go to Sunday services hoping to learn about God, but sometimes they only hear Bible verses taken out of context. Maybe one day, we’ll truly pray for better days.