I base my prayers on Bible verses like:
Matthew 7:6-7
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 21:21-22
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
I John 5:14-15
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.
There are bible verses that point out the reality that we all face death unless Jesus returns while we are still living.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot…
Hebrews 9:27-28
27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
When I pray for Steve, I am praying for a miraculous healing to remove the cancer, strengthen his body and to complete the healing by restoring the use of his legs that he lost in motorcycle accident decades ago. I have faith and believe God can do all that for Steve.
I also pray that if Steve is not going to be healed, for reasons I do not know or understand that God would peacefully bring Him home to His loving side.
I feel like those two prayers are offered like Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answer when they refused to bow down to anything other than God.
Daniel 3:16-17
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Are those prayers incongruous?
Does the one negate the other?
Let me know your comments here: