Special Prayers??

When my grandchildren were in Children’s Hospital in Little Rock suffering from life threatening injuries I began to doubt my relationship with God because my prayers were going unanswered.  I thought maybe I wasn’t praying the right way or using the right words.  Maybe God wasn’t answering because I didn’t have that “special” way of praying to Him.  All kinds of thoughts ran through my mind as I tried desperately to understand what was happening to these precious children and why God seemed to be silent.

I met a lady online.  I really don’t remember how we came in contact with each other but I was desperate and willing to try just about anything.  After many long conversations on the phone and several emails back and forth I was convinced she was the one who could “reach” God on our behalf.  I was convinced that her relationship with God was way better than mine and God would surely listen to her.

 

I bought her an airline ticket from Chicago to Little Rock so she could pray over Sarah and Jason as we all laid hands on them.  She spent the night at the hospital so she could say a very special prayer called The Prayer to The Divine at the 3 o’clock hours.  The time of these prayers is supposed to hold special power because it is the time when our Lord breathed his last.

 

I dropped her off at the airport the next morning.  I thanked her for her time and for making the trip all this way just to pray for my grandchildren.  It was a really kind and compassionate thing to do especially for a complete stranger.     But why didn’t I feel better about the situation?  Didn’t she have a “special bond” with God that I didn’t have?  Didn’t she have the “special prayers” that I didn’t know?  Why didn’t God answer her prayers either?

I realized that it was up to me to develop my own special bond with God.  This lady as devout as she was wasn’t any more saved than I was.  It just seemed that way at the time.  I realized through prayer and scripture reading that God hears the prayers of His children, all of His children.  I was wrong in my thinking.  God is not a respecter of persons.  He loves me as much as He loves you and as much as He loves that dear lady.  He loves us all the same!  What an amazing and comforting realization that was for me during my darkest hours.

Scripture

Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.  Psalm 143:1