Natural Causes

I've been thinking about this ever since I read the cynicism chapter in Paul Miller's book The Praying Life.

I pray. It is oftentimes in the middle of the night, and sometimes while doing the dishes; but either way I do long to feast on my Father's presence and grace. I wish it was more often than it is, but I am obedient to His command to pray. I know that the extent to which I pray is really the extent to which I believe the promises of my God. And this is a moment by moment, ever-so-changing, often nose-diving, sometimes soaring, kind of belief. But I do pray.

I pray simple prayers that I believe He can answer. And I wait.

Then something funny happens. He does answer.

Surprising, I know. My God answers prayer. And what do I do with this? What is my reaction? First, I don't recognize or look for the answer. I guess this isn't that unusual. We can't always know His answer. He is weaving together a very complex tapestry in our lives and His story and purposes aren't always very clear. But let's say that I see the "answer" to that simple request. Instead of acknowledging my Father's grace and love in the answer, I often chalk it off to some natural cause or scientific explanation. And I'm not even a scientist.

Let me give you an example. "Lord, please help my daughter whine less this week. Give her contentment as Your daughter. Give her patience. Show her Your love." Simple request. No magic required.

I pray this earnestly. At the end of the week, in passing, I notice that Lauren has hardly whined or complained the entire week. What a blessing - a tangible answer to prayer. But how do I respond? "Oh, that early bedtime this week must have really helped. She must have been tired last week."

Funny, isn't it? I answered my own request (and those of you that know me, know that an early bedtime is the answer to everything)! You laugh. But this is real. Could this possibly be how sovereign, or how generous, or how concerned I believe my God to be?

Another example. "Lord, please take away my anxiety today as I raise and school three children." A constant prayer for me. Days later, God answers. I have a week or so of trust and peacefulness with little anxiety. I recognize it this time. But my gut response? "My hormones must have evened out this week." I'm not kidding. Isn't it sad? My God, My Savior, the One that cares for me and knows me better than I know myself has so graciously answered my simple prayer and I find myself analyzing endocrinology. As if I know any of that stuff anyway!

Am I the only one that does this? I'm guessing not if Miller spends several pages of his book on cynicism in prayer. Maybe that is a bit of a comfort. He goes on to explain how the Enlightenment has such a great influence on how modern skeptics approach prayer. Probably very true. But despite this pervading cynicism, I think the real comfort is that no matter who I attribute the answers to, whether it be my silly scientific explanations (they really can be ridiculous, ask my husband) or the alignment of the stars, my Father will just keep answering. He continues to care whether my daughter is whining or not. He even cares to intercede when I am unloading the dishes. He is fast pursuing this pseudoscientist until she herself will one day see Her Father and God answer prayer and say, "I know in Whom I believe, and this is just like Him."