Praying with Confidence

One of the readings this week was a story of St. Peter from the Acts of the Apostles. In the passage (Acts 9:36-43), Peter is traveling through different cities boldly preaching the Gospel and performing many miracles. He enters the town of Joppa and is immediately asked to come to the house of a woman named Tabitha, a holy and devoted follower, who had just become ill and died. Going into the room where they laid Tabitha, the text says "Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed". And after his time of prayer, he looks to the body and says "Tabitha, rise up" and she awakens.

As I read this story, I was wondering what Peter's prayer must have been like in this instance. I suspect that Peter's prayers didn't include things like "Lord, heal this dead woman so I don't look like a fool" or "God, please raise her up so I can look extra holy to all these people". But I have full confidence that in this situation, Peter had full confidence in the power of the Father. Peter didn't enter into prayer thinking that his requests MIGHT be heard and MIGHT come true; he was convinced that this miracle would come to fruition and placed his full trust in the power of God.

But what about my own prayer life? When I think about the way that I pray, for the most part, I do not pray with the boldness and intensity of Peter. I am not always certain that my prayers are heard or answered. Though I pray for direction in my life, for people who are struggling, for peace in our world, and for so many more things, I often express those prayers with tepidity and doubt.

The truth is that for me, and maybe for you, I still see God as small. I still sometimes envision my struggles, my need for guidance, my hurt, and my sin as too big for God to handle. And beyond myself, I look at such things as the devastation caused by natural disasters, the overwhelming issue of immigration reform, the threat on faith by secular society, and the horrifying rates of abortion and I wonder, "Can God really handle this? Is it even worth praying about?" I struggle to fathom a God who is bigger, stronger, and more powerful than the needs I place before him.

My prayer for us today is that we can begin to understand that this God we worship is no small God. He is not a God who can be stumped or overwhelmed by our problems. He is not a God who is baffled by our weaknesses or conquered by our sin. He is in control of all things, even if we think he is absent and even if we doubt his power. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 says: "Yours, O Lord, are grandeur and power, majesty, splendor, and glory. For all in heaven and on earth is yours; yours, O Lord, is the sovereignty and you are exalted as head over all. Riches and honor are from you, and you have dominion over all". THIS is the God we worship. THIS is the God that we reflect on today. And THIS is the God who we must pray with confidence to. For he, in fact, is more powerful than our problems, more glorious than the things of this earth, and more loving and merciful than our small human minds can grasp. And to this God, we give thanks.