871 the then Prince of Wales’s recovery was widely thought to have resulted from nationwide prayers, not from advances in medicine. There have been subsequent national days of prayer, and some might say we could do with more today. But it did make me wonder, initially, how many similar or identical prayer requests are made each day.
Over four years ago, our granddaughter gave birth to a 14.5-ounce baby at 24 weeks, and I know of people in the UK, USA and New Zealand who were praying for Divine help, not knowing what to pray for. Today, that “miracle baby” as she is often called is one of the happiest children I know.
It has often been said that “the secret of successful prayer is submission” and the supreme example was demonstrated by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26 verse 39) when he prayed “Yet not as I will, but as you will”. And this, even knowing what was to come.
I have occasionally heard people in Prayer Meetings apologising for presenting God with a shopping list. What has challenged me over recent years is our deep concern for a situation, so telling God what the problem is and also what He needs to do to resolve it! Thankfully, hindsight invariably proves that His way is best and submission, though challenging, is preferable.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please help us to learn the secret of patient submission so that we may live based on the example of Jesus, “Not my will but yours”.