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Psalm 65:1 NLT

'What mighty praise, O God, belongs to you in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to you.'

All of us make our way to God with requests. God is the focus for our intercessions, prayers for ourselves and the ones we love. We approach God with confidence that he will hear and answer us. I remember as a new Christian at university where I met and started dating Katey, I explored this way of prayer. Katey was prone to migraines, and having recently read about physical healing in the Bible, I thought I would pray. Aware a migraine was coming on, I suggested we pray. I had no oil, and in reality didn’t know what sort of oil was meant in the Bible. So I got an egg cup, filled it with water and said in my naivety, “Let’s pray this water becomes oil; after all, Jesus prayed over water and it became wine.” Simple faith carried me a long way.

So I prayed and then dribbled some water from the egg cup over Katey’s head, praying for a healing. The signs of the migraine retreated, it never developed and Katey never endured another migraine. I was overjoyed at the outcome. It built my faith, increased my confidence and raised our spirits. Yet, we were focused upon the outcome rather more than the source of that outcome. The healing was as important to us as the healer.

John Goldingay translates this verse as, “To you silence is praise”. This, perhaps, is a more fitting response when facing the source of all creation, the One to whom we pray. The silence begins where my words end. It is a quiet recognition of the reality of God’s presence and trust in God’s provision. Now I leave my request with God, confident God has heard and will respond.

Approaching God is what we are each invited to do. Having made our approach, expressed our intentions, it is good to pause and acknowledge God’s faithful promise to answer us. We can entrust God with our request with complete confidence that he hears our prayer and will prove faithful.

QUESTION: Is the purpose of your prayer to secure your stated outcome, or is it to demonstrate obedient trust in God?

PRAYER: Lord, may you be more important to me than getting what I want from you.