The Power of Prayer

I usually write my posts in Windows Live Writer then it uploads them into Blogger for me.  I found this draft that I had written back in the beginning of August but never published for some reason.  I read over it and decided that I would post it now – even though it’s talking about Amelia and her crying issues.  

Do you ever underestimate the power of prayer?  I know I do.  Sometimes I catch myself going through something difficult or worrying about something just to realize that I haven’t really, truly prayed about it.  The Lord cares about even our smallest desires!  Even things that we think of as “not worth a prayer” are worth something to God.  He cares about us! 

If you have kids, this is even easier for you to apply.  When your children want something small – like a $0.25 piece of gum out of the machine, don’t you usually hand them a quarter to get the gum?  You care about even the little things that they want!  The Lord cares about you more than you can even fathom!  This means that we need to put our trust in Him and KNOW that He is going to take care of us! 

We had been having so many problems with my sweet Amelia.  There were so many days when I just thought I couldn’t take it anymore and I frequently thought of 1 Corinthians 10:13 – that the Lord wouldn’t give me more than I could handle.  She cried so much.  So, so, so much.  For nearly 7 months we listened to her cry and had no idea how to soothe her.  Obviously, I had prayed about it and asked God to help US help HER.  One night, after finally getting her to sleep, I cried in my bedroom floor begging and pleading with God to please help my baby.  She refused a bottle and I couldn’t even try to offer her anything other than breastmilk to try to help her sensitive tummy.  I begged God to please let her take a bottle so I could see if it would help her.  The next morning, on a whim, I tried a bottle.  She refused like usual but I kept trying.  All of sudden, out of nowhere, she started taking that bottle like she’d done it her entire life.  I stood there holding her and feeding her that bottle with tears rolling down my face.  God heard my prayer!  I was so thankful.  A week later, we had a new baby.  She was happier, calmer, and slept better.  

I understand that sometimes God lets us go through trials because they make us stronger.  Listening to your baby scream for 7 months is incredibly trying – especially when you have no idea why she’s screaming or hurting.  I never doubted that God was hearing my prayers, but I knew in my heart that He would help when the time was right.  

I say all of this to say, how wonderful is our God?! That we can call on him for even the most trivial things happening in our lives and know that he cares for us…it’s an amazing feeling.  When your heart is troubled, for whatever reason, call on Him.  Call on Him and KNOW that He will answer your prayer!  I try now to pray for “whatever is best” because in the last several years of my life, I have realized that I really do not know anything and he knows everything.  Instead of praying for what I want, I pray for whatever is best.  That’s a tough prayer to pray, but I’ve decided that if He feels something is best for me that I don’t, I trust Him.  My prayer life has turned from “I need ___” to “Thank you so much for ___” and when I feel like I need something, I simply say, “Lord, whatever is best in this situation, please help me figure out what that is.”  It has changed my prayer life and my relationship with Him tremendously.  I’ve become so much more thankful for my blessings.  

So give it a shot and try praying for whatever is best – and pray continually – then sit back and be patient.  God cares about even the birds in the sky!  If He cares for them, how much more then, does He care for you?  

It’s funny to read this now because I used this same “whatever is best” method when we decided we might want to have another baby.  I was worried about the timing, that they might all be too close together.  I prayed about it a lot, and finally came to the conclusion that we wouldn’t try or prevent and just let it happen when God knew it was right.  Here we are now, expecting #3 and I’m not really nervous at all.  I prayed that whenever He felt was the best time for us to get pregnant again, that He would let that happen.  So I’m not worried one bit.  I know that He is looking out for us and has plans for us!