The Mystery of Prayer

"Ravi Zacharias recalls a visit he made to a place known for making the best wedding saris in the world: ‘With such intricacy of detail, I expected to see some elaborate system of machines that would boggle the mind in production. But this image could not have been further from the real scene. Each sari was made individually by a father and son team. The father sat above the son on a platform, surrounded by several spools of thread that he would gather into his fingers. The son had only one task. At a nod from his father, he would move the shuttle from one side to the other and back again. This would then be repeated for hundreds of hours, until a magnificent pattern began to emerge.

‘The son certainly had the easier task. He was only to move at the father’s nod. But making use of these efforts, the father was working to an intricate end. All along, he had the design in his mind and was bringing the right threads together.’

Ravi Zacharias ends the story by saying, ‘God alone can weave a pattern from the disparate threads of our lives – whether suffering, success, joy, or heartache – and fashion a magnificent design. Perhaps today, if you will stop and reflect on it, you will see that the Father is seeking to weave a beautiful tapestry in your life.’

Everything that happens in this world is within the sphere of God’s working. Theologians call this ‘providence’. This word means God’s foresight: the way he anticipates and prepares for the future. Providence is the protective care and government of God. He is present and active in the world – sustaining it and ruling it. ‘Providence’ is the way God guides and steers human beings and human history.

God also sometimes intervenes in his world through miracles. But there is a difference between ‘providence’ and ‘miracles’. The most accurate definition of a miracle that I have come across is that given by Bishop David Atkinson who writes that a miracle is ‘best kept to refer to a non-repeatable counter-instance of an otherwise demonstrable law of nature.’

Job said, ‘You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit’ (Job 10:12). In each of our passages for today we see something about God’s providence

Psalm 72:1-20

Providence and prayer

Your prayers make a difference. Not only do they affect your own life but also they can affect the course of history.

How providence and prayer work together is a mystery. In some extraordinary way our prayers affect the outcome of events. God is sovereign and works out his purposes through history. Yet he involves us in this process.

This psalm is a prayer for King Solomon. It was a strong reminder of his high calling. Yet it goes beyond what is humanly attainable. For example, ‘He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations’ (v.5). His reign is eternal and universal (v.8).

Ultimately, it was only fulfilled in the Messiah, Jesus Christ. C.H. Spurgeon wrote, ‘Jesus is here, beyond all doubt, in the glory of His reign, both as He now is, and as He shall be revealed in the latter day glory.’

This psalm is a prayer for blessing on the king and through him that all the people will be blessed with ‘prosperity’ (v.3). The good leader will be concerned about poverty and justice: ‘Please stand up for the poor, help the children of the needy, come down hard on the cruel tyrants’ (v.4, MSG). It is also a prayer that in his foreign policy ‘all nations will be blessed through him’ (v.17).

David says, ‘May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long’ (v.15b). It is clear that God’s blessing on the leader will come as people pray for him. How this works we do not know. However, it shows that praying really does make a difference. In his providence, somehow God takes our prayers and uses them to bring blessing.

Lord, thank you that prayer makes a difference. Today, I pray especially for our leaders who you, in your providence, have set over us. Give them grace and wisdom to fulfil the duties of their calling. Enrich their lives that they may be a source of strength and inspiration to the people, and promote your honour and glory."

1. Thank You for revealing that prayer indeeds make a lot of difference.

2. Thank You that You have blessed us with extra hours for learning.

3. Hallelujah for scrumptious crabs!