Prayer is difficult

When I pray a multitude of thoughts seek to distract me.

“Is the oven on?”
“Has anyone emailed me?”
“Should I check to see if the postman has been?”
Perhaps my greatest battle is with the question that nags me.
“What’s the point?”
Sometimes the sick recover.
Sometimes a relationship is saved.
But, more often than not, my requests go unanswered.

Prayer is more than presenting a shopping list.
It is deep communication between two people who love one another.

My son once told me that as a teenager he was shocked by how little I knew.
Then he grew up.
Today he is willing to be my friend.
“One day I understood how much you sacrificed to give me the life I now enjoy.”

The same can be said of God.
When I look at Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection I recognize terrible suffering.
There can only be one reason.
God must love us.

That’s what I need to know when I am praying.
No one would sacrifice so much unless He loved me.
And so I persevere.

Remember this truth the next time you are struggling.