Don't have faith in your prayers, have faith in God

It was just last week that I entered the surgery center at Baptist East to pray with a dear church member who was about to have a procedure done to relieve her back pain.  As I entered the room, the nurse was  explaining that the surgery could not take place that day because her sodium levels were too low.  I could sense frustration and sadness filling the room.  "I just want to be relieved of pain. Isn't there anything you can do?" she asked.  The nurse replied that she would consult with the doctor but she was pretty confident that the surgery would not be able to take place that day. Laying there in the hospital bed, Ms Debbie (let's call her Ms Debbie) looked at me and explained with sadness how difficult it had been for her to even get there that morning and she shared that she was pretty hungry too.  I listened a little more and then I offered a prayer.  I prayed for a miracle and that her sodium levels would rise and that she would be able to have the surgery.  I left after offering a prayer and walked back to my car.  Within minutes I had received a text message from her daughter that said "Your prayer worked. The sodium levels are up enough for surgery, and they just took her back. Thanks for being here."

I sat in my car before driving away and I looked up to heaven and asked God, "Did my prayer really work?"  God spoke back to me with a verse of scripture from James 5:16 - the earnest prayer of a righteous person has power and produces wonderful results.  "Wait, God. I don't consider myself righteous.  I try my best to obey you but I definitely fall short."

I've struggled with this verse.  Me, righteous?  I grew up with an understanding that praying was for making a difference in me.  But something clicked that day for me.  The truth is - our prayers do produce wonderful results.  This scripture says that our prayers are powerful and effective when we are "right" with God.  To come to God in effective prayer, you must first come to Jesus by faith.  You must continually confess your sins and receive the righteousness of Christ that we have by faith.  1 John 3:22 says "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight."

I hesitated to write this blog because this verse can be intimidating.  Many times when we pray, we have faith in our prayers instead of having faith in an almighty God.  I realize that this still doesn't address the age old question of why God allows bad things to happen to good people.  I don't understand that but trust that God knows best.  In the meantime, however, my not understanding will not prevent me from fervently praying for the needs of my family and those around me.  I must trust this promise and know that if I strive to live a life of obedience, God does transform my prayers into wonderful results.