Prayer As Favor: Devotional

“A father is delighted when his little one, leaving off her toys and friends, runs to him and climbs into his arms. As he holds his little one close to him, he cares little whether the child is looking around, her attention flitting from one thing to another, or just settling down to sleep. Essentially the child is choosing to be with her father, confident of the love, the care, the security that is hers in those arms. Our prayer is much like that. We settle down in our Father’s arms, in his loving hands. Our mind, our thoughts, our imagination may flit about here and there; we might even fall asleep; but essentially we are choosing for this time to remain intimately with our Father, giving ourselves to him, receiving his love and care, letting him enjoy us as he will.” — M. Basil Pennington

Prayer is an astonishing experience of God’s favor—seemingly too good to be true. The God of the universe is ready and willing to interact intimately with each and every human being on our planet at the very moment that any of us chooses to turn our hearts toward Him. We can hardly comprehend such a thing in our world of scheduling appointments and waiting our turn. How can we even begin to fathom God’s responsiveness when we spend so much of our lives sitting in traffic, standing in lines, and waiting on hold, being repeated reminded that our ‘calls will be answered in the order that they were received’?

Yet, here’s the truth: You have your Father’s favor. He longs to be with you. And He attends to you perfectly and personally the very moment you seek Him.