But Did You Pray?

When faced with difficulties what is the first thing you do? Check Google for answers? Ask a friend? What you should do is listen to that nagging voice in the back of your head that is saying “Did you pray?” That is where you will get the comfort, solutions and direction you need, right from the source, our Heavenly Father!

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 12:12

Life is filled with problem after problem that needs to be solved. It’s endless. It’s one of the certainties of living…there will be problems.

With social media, people now post their problems online asking for help and solutions. Some issues, like how to get stains out, are addressed with fairly simple answers.

Others are more complex. Things like relationship problems, moral issues, behaviour in children and so on.

Often when I scroll through these sorts of problems, I wonder “Yes, but did you pray?”

Of course, on general forums this sort of response isn’t favourably accepted and so I don’t use it. But in my everyday life, I try to remind myself of it.

Even for small problems, and minor irritations, God will listen to our petitions. And for the big problems, like parenting a threenager, I need to pray first.

Prayer is our lifeline to God. It is what connects us to him. When we pray we bring our issues before God and ask for direction.

If we haven’t turned it to God then we are walking alone. Even if we post our problem on social media, we risk finding a solution that won’t fix the issue but might make it worse. When we pray, we know that the answer is coming from God and he has a really good track record at solving problems!

It’s important to remember that God doesn’t always give us an answer right away, but that isn’t the point. Prayer is opening it up for God to do his work, in his time. And it gives us comfort knowing he has heard us.

We might get instant gratification from social media but God’s timing is perfect.

So instead of “what do I do?” We should be saying “Did I pray?” when a problem rolls around. Whether the issue is big or small, let God give you the answer!

While troubles will be a constant thing in our earthly lives, God is also a constant, one we should always turn to! So be constant in prayer and turn to him for your answers!