Prayer, Trusting God, and an Engine

I’m working on a new book: “How to Glorify God”, so posts here are going to be a little sparse as I spend time working on the book.  One of the ways to glorify God is praying.   And, one of the components of prayer is trusting God will answer, even if His answer is not what we want. (He is smarter than us, so answers to our prayers are always better, even if not exactly as we wanted)

Prayer involves trusting Him with the answers.  Prayer to God and not trusting Him with the results is like putting gasoline in a car missing the engine.  You could certainly do that, but it would be a waste!  Yet, so many of us ask God for things in prayer, but have little or no confidence in Him answering them.

  Think about that car/engine analogy a little further…the car’s engine has three basic components: Engine block, ignition (spark plugs, power coil, fuel injectors), and the pistons (connected to the crank and wheels).  All three of them work together to power the car down the road.  Let me explain this analogy further:

-Engine block. This all-encompassing case of the engine is the part of prayer I call thankfulness.  Trusting God comes from remembering how He answered past prayers, and trusting Him with new ones. Thanking Him tells yourself (and Him) something wonderful happened attributable only to Him.

-Ignition. God is powerful (power coil), He is in charge (spark plugs), and He loves you (fuel, which is ignited by the other two).

-Pistons and crank. These do the work.  Jesus did the work on the cross so you can talk to God, and the Holy Spirit helps accomplish God’s will.  They work with the previous two, and move you down the road of life.

All you have to do is put gasoline in the car (prayer), and enjoy the ride.   That’s a great one-liner to remember.

Remember this, the key to a successful prayer life, is trusting God with the answers.