Praying for a Sign

It is completely human and natural to pray for a “sign” from God that our prayers are heard and are being answered. But praying for a sign and receiving one are two different things. Very rarely have I ever received a sign. Well, maybe that’s not entirely true. I often get what I call a “ray of hope” that a predicament or a dilemma will work out. Maybe that is the sign I ask for. I never thought of it that way until I began to write tonight’s post.

We’re told that faith is blind and we shouldn’t need signs. But we are human, and even in the early days of the Bible, folks were asking for “proof” or “signs” that God was hearing them and answering their prayers. In those days, they were much closer to him, I think. That closeness brought them powerful, real, tangible signs.

Today, it’s difficult to be that close to him. Life still produces the same problems: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. These have not changed since Biblical days. What has changed is our tools, our conveniences, our “toys.” These things occupy our minds in ways Moses would never had dreamed of. They get in the way of our spiritual closeness to God. Most of us are not built strongly enough to just toss these “toys” away. This doesn’t mean that we will not see “signs” from God ever again. It just means that they are harder to recognize. In my case, they are simple rays of hope, glimmers of understanding that the problem is beginning to dissolve or the solution is at hand. I’ll take that, though. I’m not sure I’m up to the awesome power of the “real thing.”

Thank you, Almighty God, for the rays of hope I’ve felt today.