Philippians 4:6

Is prayer for real? Are prayers answered? We have the assurance of Jesus that prayer is for real and that they will be answered if we pray with a thankful heart. The story is told of one of Napoleon general’s, Massena, who with his army of 18,000 soldiers besieged an Austrian town that had no defenses whatsoever. The town council met to discuss how to surrender. Just then an elderly man, the dean of the town church, reminded the council that it was Easter and suggested that they hold the usual Easter services and put the problem in God’s hands. The council took his advice, went to the church and rang the church bell to assemble the townsfolk for worship. Napoleon’s forces heard the joyful ringing of the bells and concluded that the Austrian forces had arrived to rescue the town. Immediately, they broke camp and beat a retreat, and the town was saved.

Faith in God’s protection affects how we face the problems of life. Whereas people who have no faith usually respond to life’s problems with worry, people of faith respond to life’s problems with prayer. As we can see in the story of the Austrian town, worry only makes us surrender in weakness to the challenges facing us. Prayer, on the other hand, enables us to trust our all-powerful Father, who is able to draw us out of the pit into which we have sunk, ever if it should take a miracle to do so.

Prayer is not simply reading a shopping list of our needs before God. It is thanking God for the blessings we enjoy and presenting our needs to God. Much of what passes for prayer is too self-centered. Prayer should be God-centered, just as Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” God knows best. Put your trust in Him and you will rid your soul of anxiety. It has been said that “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.” Prayer offers an answer to anxiety for it enables us to let go, and put our cares in God’s hands.

Prayer is not about what we do on bended knee. It is about the way we think all day long. A person of prayer is a person who thinks always about what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. Do not spend your time thinking only about your needs, your failures or what is wrong with the world. Meditate on the life-giving words of scripture, and let them become part of your life; not only part of your life but also your lifestyle. When you apply the scriptures to your life, you will not be as preoccupied with the anxieties of the world as you once were. You will be a new person with a new mentality, and with a fresh sense of purpose. This is the kind of thing prayer from the heart does for us when we ponder the word of God, and let it enter our lives.

Fr. Hugh Duffy

Southern Gospel Music Video – God Still Answers Prayer