Recognize God’s response to prayer.

God does not answer prayers in a literal manner as a direct reply to a specific request, in a form easily recognized and immediately seen. If you pray for help, your prayer is answered, but the answer may not be in the form of immediate, observable help but in a form which is more important—a sense of depth, of love and understanding, a heightened awareness of God’s presence in another’s life or your own life. In short, one does not often specifically get what one specifically prays for. The reason, quite simply, is that when you pray, you frequently pray for the wrong things.

Prayer is natural, important, and always answered, but prayer can be learned also. Prayer is like a two-way street. It opens the channel for you to receive God’s answer. Prayer which is done appropriately means prayer in which you can recognize God’s response. It has nothing to do with the words you use or their order or syntax. Whether you say “you, thee, thy, thine” is up to you. God doesn’t care. What God does care about is that you recognize God’s response.

When you pray for another, pray that God’s strength can be permitted to enfold the life of another. That prayer is answered, and you can be assured that God’s light and strength can enfold another. You are asking for strength, for comfort, for peace, and you are enabling that to take place.