Prayer Does Not Work

On Wednesday, I had inkling that I had caught the flu bug. So I prayed to be healed. 

On Thursday, I thought I was feeling better. But when nighttime came, I wasn't. 

Early this morning, about 3a.m, I woke up because it became rather uncomfortable to sleep. So I walked around.. yes, like a sleepwalker, and then laid back down and forced myself to rest.

Now, I'm all teary eyed with both a stuffy and runny nose. I would have taken a sick leave, but I'm not sick enough... I guess. I've only taken a sick leave once since I started working, and as much as I would like to, I always end up going to work anyway. 

So, during this short period of time, I began to wonder.

I placed this image here as sarcasm.

Why is it, that when I pray for healing, I don't get healed? Is the common flu too common for God? Why does God bless me in other ways, but does not lift a finger when I fall sick? Does my prayer for healing even work?

Now, they are just random thoughts. I don't blame God if He chooses not to heal me. He is God, He doesn't have to answer to me. But today, as I was making my rounds in the blogosphere, I stumbled upon a post titled, 'The Power(less) of Prayer'.

The blog post talked about how useless prayer was and that we shouldn't rely on a divine being. It also questioned how and when God answers prayers, and whether or not they are useful. Naturally, such an interesting topic required me to leave a comment... and my comment was the answer to my own questions.

Prayer is not a platform to request for things. It is not the place where you ask God to do things for you. Prayer is communication. Often times, we use prayer as a customer service help line; my computer isn't working, help me fix it. And when the help line is not 'helpful' we start to question if prayer works. We forget that prayer is a communication gateway between us and God. It is the place where we can talk to God and just spend time with Him. Sure, we can bring forth requests, but just like requesting your friend to do something, they are not obligated to do as you ask.

So does prayer work? That question is like asking, 'Does talking to my friend work?' It doesn't make sense to question whether your talk with your friend 'works'. Hence, it doesn't make sense to question if prayer works.

Prayer only does not work when we choose not to communicate with God. A powerless prayer is an unsaid prayer.