"But the soul by no manner of prayer maketh God pliant to it: for He is ever alike in love."
Julian of Norwich (Ch. 43)
We don't need to worry that we have to somehow bend God to answer our prayer or help us. We are not needing to influence, change, or persuade Him to hear us, help us, or come to our aid. We don't need to change God, change His mind towards us, or change Him to be more favorable to us. We don't have to try to 'get' Him to answer or help us. For God is always the same in love. He is always bending towards us, always on our side. He is always coming to our aid, helping us, caring for our needs. Grace means we always are in God's favor and "good graces" and He is always favorably disposed towards us. He is always on our side, always for us and never turned away from us or against us. It is not God who needs convincing or persuading or changing; it is us! God is always the same in love. He is always healing, always helping, always blessing. But sometimes we don't see that. Prayer is not so much getting God to align with our need but getting us to align with God's character and perspective and working. He is always showing us how loving and kind He is, how He has got the situation in hand, how He has already won the victory, how we are already whole and full in heavenly places with Him. Prayer is not so much for God as it is for us. God uses that time together to remind us of His promises, of His love, of His power, of His wisdom, of His reign, of His character, so that our minds can be at ease because He has persuaded us that whatever is going on in our lives, He's already there and He's already won and we are going to be alright in Him! He shows us His perspective, and we can relax. We can breathe again. Prayer changes things. It changes our worries into peace and our fears into faith. It changes our viewpoint from earthly to heavenly. It changes despair to hope and sorrow to joy. Anxiety turns to peace that passes understanding. Weakness turns to a sense of protection as we see He is guarding our heart. We become more in touch with what our spirit has always known to be true: God will take care of everything. What a wonderful God we have who changes our perspective to His!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
A Prayer: No matter what the situation, You know just what to say to give me peace, joy and hope!