Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  

Philippians 4:6,7

Is there a tougher learning curve than the one found in the school of prayer? Fortunately, we have a Teacher who understands His students and meets them where they are. In the case of fallen humanity, that place is their felt needs and limited human perspective.  

Think of the bright colors and smiling animals that decorate an elementary classroom. It is here that happy giraffes teach young learners that 1+1=2. Later on, when that same math fact is a small part of a complex equation, it will be no less true. God’s goodness and care for us is as foundational and unchanging as 1+1.

The grand girls I mentioned earlier are in 2nd and 3rd  grade. In case you have forgotten, 2nd is one of the fun grades and 3rd is serious business. As the year started, the 3rd grader had a tough time. However, as the year has progressed, something wonderful took place: with the help of a great teacher and devoted parents, she has met and conquered new challenges and gained great confidence in her abilities, confidence that she will take her to the next level. That knowledge and that confidence cannot be gained through positive thinking or happy talk, but from the process--the learning curve.

The above verse has helped many Christians, myself included, through some tough times. First of all, it assures us that prayer is foundational to all of life, the good, the bad, and the incomprehensible. Prayer isn’t just a to-do list from us to God; our needs are the starting point, the place where He gets our attention. What comes next is well said in this quote from E.M.Bounds that was “given” to me many years ago:

Prayer constantly enlarge our horizon and our person. It draws us out of the narrow limits with which our habits, our past and our whole personage confine us…

We start with our needs and our perspective because, if nothing else, they are God’s way of getting our attention. But as we pray and keep on praying, God will mature our perspective and enlarge our horizon to know Christ’s love until we are filled up with God. (Ephesians 3:19) It isn’t easy or quick and, in our humanity, we will always carry a strong preference for our own way; but, in the end, our prayers will find their answer.

Nancy Shirah