“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.” – James 5:13
In an article entitled “Our Prayer Instincts Are Backwards: What I learned about our prayers on a shaky flight to New Zealand” author Andrew Wilson wrote: “Eleven years ago, my wife and I were on an Air New Zealand flight that felt like it was falling out of the sky. Approaching the Queenstown airport in mid-winter—with mountain ranges on both sides and a huge lake straight ahead—we were caught in a giant wind tunnel. The plane was shuddering and sporadically dropping 50 feet at a time. The cabin filled with shrieking and praying. Many people were crying out to a God whom they did not believe. Just as there are no atheists in foxholes, there certainly aren’t many on buffeted flights.
Thirty minutes later, after having landed safely, the group of strangers waited at baggage claim, looking awkwardly at each other. No doubt, many of them felt silly.
The content of those prayers fascinated me. I suspect it reflects the way many of us intuitively pray. The most common petition I heard was some variant of “deliver us from evil”: “Help!” “Save us!” and “Oh, God, please don’t let me die!” Crises prompt cries for deliverance, with the immediate need for safety drowning out all other concerns. Whenever I listen to baptism testimonies at my church, I am struck by how many people called out to God for the first time in a moment of personal danger.
The other prayer I heard, though more infrequently, was “forgive us our sins” in some form or another: “I’m sorry” and “God, please forgive me.” People want to be at peace with God when they die. So after crying out for rescue, they apologized as they prepared to meet their Maker. (By far the most demanding line of the Lord’s Prayer—“As we forgive those who sin against us”—was not heard over the din.)”
The Lord answers our prayers in ways we cannot imagine. Today in prayer, praise the Lord that we have a loving Father that is always ready to hear our prayers.
“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” - Corrie ten Boom
God’s Word: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." – Ephesians 6:18
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