R.A.D.I.C.A.L. Thoughts for R.A.D.I.C.A.L. Women

I’ve been thinking about prayer a lot lately just because prayers seem to have been answered so dramatically and so specifically, recently. The way Mom died as soon as my sister-in-law and I got off our knees asking for mom not to suffer anymore and for God to show us clearly and directly what he wanted. Then the call from “out of the blue” by a marketing director at a independent living/assisted living facility as my brother and I were driving around looking for a place that might be a good fit for my Dad. We prayed, holding hands before we started out. The first place was way beyond reach financially and there was a long waiting list. The second was still out of our budget and was depressing and sad even though seemingly well run. And then we got the call just wanting to invite Mom and Dad to lunch to look at this facility a few minutes from my brother’s house. When she found out what we were doing she said, “This is definitely a God thing! I have an expanded one-bedroom apartment that will be available in early August … and it’s the only one I have and it will be filled immediately if you don’t want it.” And it was completely in our price range. Then my daughter has recently moved and her four-year-old daughter was unable to find a place in the parochial preschool that was close to my daughter’s house. The principal of the school said, “don’t plan on getting in here because she is third on the waiting list and we hardly ever have cancellations this late in the summer.” The principal called yesterday and said there was a place for Daisy! Are all of these coincidences? Did prayer have anything to do with anything? And then what about all of those tearful, pleading prayers I prayed to God that my marriage would be saved, or that my wasband would end his affair or that my children would not have to be part of a “broken family”? What about those prayers? I celebrate and thank God for his perfect will when prayers are answered like I want. I don’t celebrate when prayers don’t seem to bring the results I so desperately desire. Can I learn to thank God for his answers regardless of what they are? Can I believe that God’s purposes can be fulfilled even when things don’t turn out like I think I want? Here’s what I think: I believe God expects us to voice our wants and desires to him. My older brother one time said, “Why would I ever pray for anything specific if God knows all and loves me and has promised to work out my life for my good and his glory? Why would I ever pray for anything but his will?” But the Bible does say, “With Thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” And do I have lots of requests …. every single day! I am trying to get to the point that after I pray (and especially when I pray with others) that I will trust that God will honor my prayer and will do what is best and what is in his perfect plan. I think he takes what we think we want and turns it into what will really be best for us and for his purposes. I am trying to get to the place that I will completely trust that after I pray about things, that God will be completely faithful to work out my life for his glory and my good. I am going to try to learn to trust even through the tears. God understands my heart and he will understand, too, that in spite of what we pray for, we really want his will for us. That’s when he can do his very best work!

"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)