Communication Is Key

James 5:13 says, “Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises”. This tells me that we should be in constant communication with God. Both when times are good and when times are bad. When things are going good and we are in a great place in our lives we never hesitate to share our successes with others.  We are so quick to say, “I got the job!”, “I got that raise”, “I feel completely better!”. We never say things like “Jesus, healed me completely” or “God came through again and gave me that raise!”. It’s often during the harder times that I do hear people mention his name. We say, “God, why can’t you just give me a break!”, “Why is this happening to me, God?”.

When things are going good in our lives, we just keep moving right along, plugging away at the days that have been running so smoothly. We forget to give him praise and we no longer find ourselves needing to call out his name for help so often. So our contact begins to dwindle as we no longer communicate with our Heavenly Father.

Sometimes God allows hardships and challenges in our lives so we will turn to him in prayer. He wants to reveal himself to us. He knows that sometimes prayer is our last resort. He knows that when things have gotten so crazy and out of hand and we get so worried that we finally decide to pray. It is often our last resort when it should have been our first! When life sweeps you off your feet, get on your knees and pray. When life has you standing tall, sing your praises unto the heavens.

When we aren’t praying and we allow ourselves to worry it’s because there is a lack of trust in God. We’re essentially saying that God isn’t in control of our lives and he isn’t taking care of us. We are not trusting in the destiny God has laid out for us. When in fact he is in control of all circumstances that surround our lives. There are no coincidences when you are a believer in Christ. There is only divine intervention.

I heard a story last week about a woman who was on her way to the hospital to register because she thought she was going into labor. But before she did, she just needed to cross off the last item on her list, so she made a quick stop at Target. She was going to be a first-time mother and had read all of the books, and was now gathering all of her supplies listed in the books. She was in the baby section at Target when her water bag broke. She immediately felt the heaviness of her unborn child awaiting his debut. She became scared when a woman who was standing next to her introduced herself as a delivery nurse. The delivery nurse quickly began to take charge and ensured the young woman everything was under control. She asked a Target team member to gather some towels and other supplies. When the worker was grabbing towels nervously off the shelf he told a customer that a woman was in labor in the baby aisle. The customer then quickly followed the worker explaining that she was an ER doctor and she could help. Later after rumors spread throughout the store, and more guests heard about the commotion, another shopper introduced herself as a NICU Nurse. Everything and everyone she needed was right there in one place.

Many people in the store laughed and said it was a coincidence that all of those skilled people were there at the same time. Others said she was a lucky woman who should go buy a lotto ticket. But those who know better say it was by divine appointment that those people were there. God had already sent those people in the medical profession to get something that needed. He had already set them in motion the moment he knew that his daughter was going to be stubborn and go get that last thing on her list. He knows his children and he cares for us and watches over us because just like the nurse told the woman, “Everything is under control”, his control.

There is power in prayer. Prayer can dramatically change situations, people and sometimes it can even change the very course of nature. Why wouldn’t it? God himself created the heavens and the earth and if he chooses to move them because you are spending time communicating with him in prayer then he will because he can. But what prayer changes most is US! We change when we pray. Our hearts change, our mind changes, and we transform. The purpose of prayer is not to change God or convince him to do something different. The purpose of prayer is to align ourselves with the will of God and accept that his will is the final word, and once we accept that he is in control, we will find our peace.