Why I pray a lot each day

There are many seemingly trivial reasons for me to pray. Yet, when I pray for these little things, and if I recognize them as answered, it encourages me to pray for bigger issues. Sometimes I don’t realize a prayer is answered until I look back one day and “see” what was in front of me all the time.

I’ll give you three examples of what others might call trivial reasons to pray, and how and if they have been answered at this moment.

First, I had to make a very early drive of 15 miles in our 14 yr old van this morning to pay the electric, hoping to avoid disconnection. I needed to get to that office by 8 a.m., find a parking space in the teensy lot (holds all of 12 cars), and be at least the 3rd or 4th person in line so that I could leave, get to another bill payment location to avoid storage being auctioned, leave there, and get back home before 8:45 a.m. to get Jane’s meds and breakfast. Add to that, I only had 1/8 tank of gas. Sooooo, I prayed about the fears and worries I had (as just mentioned), and asked for a happy outcome to these problems. Then I turned it off. Of course, being me, I kept an eye on the time, and as I approached a few blocks from my first stop, it was already 7:50 a.m. By then, I was convinced I hadn’t made 3rd or 4th in line and was too late for a decent parking space. I gave up and let go. I pulled up to the lot and saw only 1 other car in there - this was amazing enough. No one was in line - I was FIRST in line! Of course, this made me in and out and I met my other commitments without trouble, and without running out of gas (another amazing thing).

Second, a very silly thing to pray about. During the night, our 11-yr-old almost obese gray Bengal tabby, Tigger, walked on me and accidentally poked his claw into the area at the base of my thumb, plus gave me a little scratch. It’s not his fault. His claws need trimming badly and I hope to afford it soon. However, I didn’t get up and put peroxide on, which I should have done. The night passed. The day passed. This evening, I noticed it was a bit inflamed and the area was tender. I prayed that there would be no infection caused by my stupidity and prayed for a happy outcome. I went in and poured peroxide over the almost closed wound. Eventually, the bubbles appeared, and the tenderness, when I dried the area, seemed immediately much less.

Third, I looked all day for a letter from a bank that I was sure I had put in a safe place midst my clutter. Finally, I prayed that it would appear and prayed for a happy outcome. It never appeared. The happy outcome is that I realize that maybe this is not quite the time to deal with it and God will show it to me when that time comes.

So, long-winded as this is, there are 3 totally different types of things I prayed for today. Two were answered; one was put on “hold,” as I like to call it. The big thing is that, in each case, after I prayed, I felt a sense of relief, and turned my mind to other things.

Please, Father, help me to remember these three situations so that I will come to you with all my daily problems, or at least with more of them than I do now.