Is It Futile to Pray?

Sometimes it feels like it.

Scripture tells us to pray for those who despitefully use us... to pray for our enemies.  We are told to pray for those in authority over us.  We are told to pray for our daily needs, forgiveness of our sin, and wisdom.  We are told to pray for healings, to intercede on the behalf of our brothers and sisters.  We are told to pray for God's will to be done.  Then when we see an outcome that fails to measure up with our thoughts of what needs to be done, we question God's permissive will.

Most folks I know are devoted Christians.  Many are calling for us to pray for the president of our country-- no matter how we feel about his election.  They cite scripture passages that command us to pray for our leaders.  Most folks I know are eager to pray for their president and the leaders in authority over them.  I prayed that President Obama gets wisdom from God and heeds the wisdom he receives-- that his heart would fall in love with Jesus.  That is what I said I would continue to pray for him for the next four years.  What Obama does with the wisdom from God is up to him.  We all have the free will to obey or ignore God's direction.  I cannot pray for Obama's success as a leader because I do not agree with the majority of his policies.  His thoughts are not my thoughts and I do not believe from his actions that they are very close to God's thoughts.

So, yes; I do wonder sometimes if it is futile to pray for this man.  It seems as though, with all the Christians who have prayed for him in the past four years, that he has ignored all wisdom from God.  Then again, it may be me.  Maybe it is the many Christians I know who have it all wrong.  I don't think so.  As I struggle, along with my brothers and sisters in Christ, on how to pray for our president, I found a more specific way to pray for him which does not violate my conscience, nor does it conflict with a sincere prayer from my heart as a Christian.  Perhaps others can benefit from what Janice Harvey, wrote on a facebook post to Joe McKeever, regarding how she would pray for the president:

"Bro. Joe, you well know how I have opposed the re-election of this president. I feel he has hurt us and divided us more than we have been since the Civil War. It has been a sort of torture to get my mind and heart right to pray for him these past four years after watching him use backdoor tactics and knowing what he has endorsed that is clearly in conflict with the Word of God. I also question his respect and adherence to our Constitution and Bill of Rights. These are fundamental and very difficult "struggles" for me with this one president...I've never questioned the actual patriotism of any other president before. I am being sincere and expressing what causes some of the real problems with Barack Obama. Here's what I can and will pray for President Obama:

~I will pray that the Holy Spirit commands Barack Obama's attention every day and that if he is not in personal relationship with the Lord, that he will be drawn toward Christ in a mighty way (and soon).

~I will pray that he can demonstrate-with no more question- his true love of country, his absolute allegiance to our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

~I pray he will not hesitate any longer to proudly stand with Israel regarding any threat to them and honor them as our greatest allies in the Middle East.

~I pray that he will do a much better job in the next four years to unite us and inspire us in love and caring for one another and that he will have the strength, energy, and desire to let his ego slide in favor of working with Congress to make the better and best choices for our future.

~I pray for his character and example...for his motives...that they will be in the favor of righteous things.

~I pray that he will read, learn and trust in the Bible and that he will have daily fellowship with godly people who pray with him, teach him, and love him to do the best he can during these next four years.

It would be a great, great joy at the end of these next four years, if we who were so opposed to so much we see in him could say, "Thank God for the profound work the Lord has done through him." God can and will do these kinds of things in a man, if that man is pliable and willing. I pray our president will be."  ~Janice Garner Harvey (with permission)

We can pray.  We can pray all the right things.  And things may not change.  People may not change.  Our world may not change.  Our prayers may all seem futile.  But that does not mean it is futile to pray.  God seeks us to be dependent upon Him and rely on Him.  He is sufficient to meet our needs... not the government, not the president, not the political parties.  ~selahV today

Comments

[Steve Martin]

Amen, selahV!

One surefire way to have God always answer your prayer in the affirmative is to pray, "Not my will, but Thy will be done."

[selahV]

yep, just back out of the way and let it happen. selahV

[Steve Martin]

Easier said than done.

I am a worry-wart. That's how much I trust in Him.

My faith is a quarter the size of a grain of salt.

[selahV]

I'm smiling, Steve. we each have times when we truly want God's will but we are simply afraid of the unknown because we know God does things in very unique ways. I mean who woulda thought of parting the Red Sea, or feeding thousands with a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread? Well, that's the whole point... God is not us and we are so silly we think we know best. We don't. And it is good to know we can rely on Him in our ignorance and foolishness. That's what is so nice about abiding in Him, when we mess up, we are still in Him and he takes up the slack.