Does Prayer complete our relationship with God?
One of the religious activities used in quantifying Christians relationship with God is prayer. Moreover, Christians pray in order to commune with God. But, our communication with God only involves asking and complaining. Meanwhile, Before a relationship could be perfect or complete, then there must be an act of giving and taking (Relationship is all about give and take) therefore, prayer does not make a perfect nor complete relationship because when you pray, you only take from God, you do not give.
Does Prayer fail?
Does prayer even fail? Yes it does, but that's only when God is not ready to answer. I mean when God is not ready to hear your complaint. Do not get me wrong, God is always ready to answer your prayers. But there are some times when we complain on things that are not necessary, we ask for things that we don't need. Trust me, God knows what you need, what's best for you and he knows the best time to answer your prayers. So maybe you have been praying about something for a very long time but your prayer has not yet been answered, then you need to try something else.
When Prayer Fails...
When Prayer fails, Try Praise. Yes, try praise, it is as simple as that. When it seems God is not answering your prayers, why don't you start praising him? At least your relationship with him becomes perfect and complete. When you praise God, it simply means you are giving him what he likes. It is very simple, just imagine you are a friend to someone, but you keep collecting from your friend without giving him anything in return, not even a thank you. Very soon, your friend will get tired of you. But try and say thank you, or give your friend something in return, your friend will be very happy. That makes your relationship stronger. That's exactly how it is with God, even though he never get tired of us, he is always happy whenever we say thank you.
Are you wondering why you should try praise?
You should try praise because it works. Check out some instances from the scripture.
- Our Lord Jesus Christ tried praise before waking up the dead. John 11:41-43
[41]So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me.
[42]You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”
[43]Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”
- Jesus praised God before feeding the multitude.
John 6 [11]Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.
- It was the shout of praise that destroyed the wall of Jericho.
Joshua 6 [20]When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.
- Paul and Silas tried praise and they received freedom
Acts of the Apostles 16:25-26
[25]Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.
[26]Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!
What happens when you praise...
- When you Pray, God appoints, but when you praise, God Arises. Yes, when you pray, God appoints his angels to attend to your case and to settle your wants. But trust me, when you praise, God himself is interested in you, he arises from his throne to settle both your wants and your needs.
- When you pray, God does what you ask him to do, but when you praise, he does more than what you ask him to do.
- When you pray, doors are opened, but when you praise, both doors and windows are opened.
Conclusion
The relationship between us and God is like that of a Father and his children. The father would prefer the child that appreciates him compared to the child that doesn't. Don't just only ask from God, make sure you also give back to him and he will do wonders in your life. It's good to pray, but it's best to Pray and Praise.