I find myself thinking sometimes about what it will be like when we finally see God face to face, and what it will look like to see His saints together, perfect, in His presence, worshipping Him. I know that when we see God He will be more majestic and awesome than we could ever imagine. I don’t know exactly what it will feel like, but I know that the overwhelming joy and love we’ll feel that day will be more overpowering than anything we could ever come close to experiencing until it happens. I have to admit that in this very limited time we have here to do whatever our King might call us to, the times I feel most overwhelmed by the hope of that future glory is when I come before God in prayer.
To me, prayer is about so much more than just being a “good” Christian, or doing what I know I’m “supposed” to. It’s talking to God, and realizing that in so doing a very real, holy God is physically present with us and giving us His full, undivided attention.
I know that when we go through phases of not praying it’s really easy to stay like that, but I also know that so many of those times that I’ve gone to God in prayer one of my first thoughts was that I wished I did it more often. Even just praying little sentence prayers throughout the day is so valuable because it helps us remember that no matter where we are, God is walking right beside us.
It might sound silly at first, but there’s something truly awesome about just randomly praying simple tidbits to God throughout the day, whether it be “I love you,” “thank you,” or even “I’m scared” or “please help me.” If we do it enough, it’s uncanny, to be in a room alone but really feel like God’s presence is there and to know that no matter what, God is with us.
It’s as important as ever to go back to one of the most powerful things we have in one of the most uncertain years in history: prayer. We can’t control what is happening around us, but we can always pray. We might not understand everything that is going on this year, but each time we pray, God not only listens but also the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with “groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). Chances are that at the very moment we’re praying, other people around the world are also praying in different languages, to the same God, at the same time.
Can we really understand how a sovereign God would use our prayers, no matter how big or small, when He’s in complete control of everything? No, but we don’t have to. The answers to our prayers might not always be what we expect, but that doesn’t mean that prayer doesn’t work. If it didn’t, God wouldn’t have told us to pray. If we’re honest with ourselves, I think that most of us, if not in our heads then in our hearts, don’t give prayer, or who we are praying to, as much credit as we should.
So, I’d like to challenge Covenant College, whether students or staff, to honestly ask ourselves how much of our lives we’ve committed to prayer—not just to feel kind of bad and move on with our lives, but to really consider if we’ve lived so much of our lives missing something so powerful. I can only imagine what it would look like if the Church responded to the many events of 2020 by going on their knees and praying. It’s never too late to pray.