What do you hope for when you pray?

What do you hope for when you pray? The natural response is that our prayers be answered by God, isn't it? But do you recognise it when God answers your prayers?? Because He may have answered in a manner that does not seem to gel with our expectation or assumption... Interesting thought isn't it?

Early this week, Sal and I had the Monday off. We had planned to watch the movie "881" but God knows better. We ended up watching Evan Almighty. And boy did it leave us with many many pennies for thought. Sorry if you are intending to watch the movie cause this is a mini-spoiler. But on the other hand, if you've read this and catch the movie later, you might appreciate it more.

Anyway, Evan has been asked by God to build an Ark - the modern day Noah's Ark and Evan is "Noah". Evan was just elected to be in Congress. His slogan is "Change the World"!. So, the whole family moved to a new neighbourhood - new car, new house, new plot of land, etc. One night, Evan's wife shared with him that the kids are excited and actually asked for prayer time and so they (as in Mom and Boys) prayed together. She too prayed a personal prayer and her prayer is for the family to draw closer and advised Evan that he ought to pray too - he needs all the help he can get. Afterall, his campaign slogan is "Change the World"! And so Evan got down on his knees and prayed and then went off to bed and forgotten about the whole thing.

That's when God answered his prayer - to change the world and gave Evan the assignment. And everything after that was just simply hilarious! Whoever the writer is, I think he/she probably is a Christian, with a very good sense of humour. God started telling Evan in many ways about his assignment to change the world - through the Alarm clock (that goes off every morning at 6:14), some letters on the electronic alarm clock were not litted and all you see is Gen. Message 1: Gen 6:14. The mover for the planks of wood to build the ark is called Go-for-Wood. (Check out Gen 6:14 and you'll understand why). The animals started appearing and following him. It was just simply hilarious!

Anyway, through a series of events, Evan had no other choice but felt compelled to do what God told him to do - build an Ark. But his wife and 3 boys didn't believe him and finally decided to walk out on him because they too thought that he went nuts.

But at a diners, his wife met God (Morgan Freeman) and so wife shared with God her predicament and in that short conversation, it spoke volumes. Here's what God told wife:

• If someone prays for patience, you think that God gives them patience… Or does He gives them the opportunity to be patient?
• If he prayed for courage, do you think that God gives him courage or the opportunity to be courageous?
• If someone prayed for the family to be closer (Alan: the prayer that the wife prayed at the beginning), you think God adds (didn't get exactly what Morgan was saying) them with warm fuzzy feeling or opportunity for them to love each other?

For us parents, many times, we prayed and asked God for patience and wisdom to parent our kids well. And what do you know? The very next minute, our kids went berserk and do something out of the norm that made us really really mad. So, how should we respond to our kids in such a situation?? :-)

So, what have you prayed for recently? Have God answered you? Maybe He has... just that we couldn't recognise it. He probably has given you and I the opportunity to apply what we have prayed. Let's pray for our eyes to be opened to be able to discern and know what God's plans and will is and that when the opportunity comes, let's not miss the opportunity to make an impact for God, on us individually, on our family, our friends and the community.

Blessings!

My Daddy checking out...