Prayer Changes Things?

I grew up in the church, many of those growing up years spent as a Pastor's daughter.  This was back in the "olden days" when things were much simpler.  Ours was  a little country type church, with down home folks and simple ways.

We would often have contests in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School.  The prize was always the same; a plaster plaque handmade and hand painted by my mother (or the kids!).  I can remember many happy hours spent pouring plaster of Paris into molds and waiting for them to dry.  Then we would seal them and paint them and they became symbols of our thanks to the people of our congregation.  Today, they would probably be laughed at but back then, they were prized.

I visited a Mennonite bakery a couple of weeks ago and in the restroom was one of these same plaques.  I looked and looked on the Internet to find some of these old gems and could only find two.  

This one I remember so well from having seen it hanging in our living room for years.  Ours was painted a whole lot differently but it was the same plaque.  As a youngster, I often wondered why it said "Find we know...."  I thought the fancy "A" looked like "Fi".  It took me a while to figure that one out!!

The other find on the Internet was from a supply company (complete with mold!) and I also remember a plague just like this hanging in our house.

That was a popular saying back in the day...along with "prayer changes things."

I didn't think about those sayings until much later in life.  While I have no doubt regarding the veracity of both mottos, I also think we need to remember that God is not a magic Genie that comes out of the bottle to grant three wishes just because we pray.  So often we wait until we are in deep trouble, then we drop to our knees and wonder why a miracle is not forthcoming.

While my God IS a God of miracles, sometimes it is not a miracle we seek, but simply the magic genie.  Prayer can and does change things but there is something else we need to learn.

When we spend time in prayer, we must not only ask, we must also listen.  Sometimes God says "NO" and sometimes He changes our circumstances.  But the most important thing that changes with prayer is what happen to the one doing the praying.  Oftentimes I have prayed for God to change this or that, or this person or that person, never realizing that it was ME who needed the changing.  When we spend quality time with our Lord in prayer, the most important thing that changes is US.  

Next time a miracle is needed and you go to prayer, you might want to take a look in the mirror.  The beginning of that miracle may just be the one staring back at you.