Padre's Corner: You sometimes need to put in work to get your prayers answered

September 8, 2020 - Capt Jennifer Renouf

In this time of isolation, we have likely spent a little more time catching up on, or binge watching, some shows on different streaming platforms.

Recently, while watching an old episode of the Simpsons from Season 2, I was intrigued by the following quote from Lisa Simpson:

“I heard you last night, Bart. You prayed for this. Now your prayers have been answered. I’m no theologian. I don’t know who or what God is exactly. All I know is he’s a force more powerful than Mom and Dad put together and you owe him big.”

This came after Lisa overheard Bart praying for one more day to study so he wouldn’t fail a big test at school and be held back a year. Due to a snow storm school was cancelled, and Bart got one more day to study. His prayer was answered.

How does God answer our prayers? I don’t believe that when we pray to win the lottery or for that new car we get what we want. Prayer is not like a genie who grants us our wishes.

However, I do believe God hears our prayers, and God always answers, just not always in the timing or the way we would like. When we don’t get what we want we may think God does not care or exist. We call into question God’s existence and we blind ourselves to the presence of God in our lives. God’s answer to prayer varies. God’s answer to prayer could be through the love and support of someone close to you. It could be through interaction of a complete stranger. It could come through the opening, or closing, of a door or opportunity.

There is no one way that God answers prayer. There is no one way that we see, hear or feel God in our world. There is no one way of understanding the nature of God. There is no right or wrong answer to how God works in our world.

In Episode 1 Season 2 of “The Simpsons” where the above quote comes from, we see that Lisa is initially skeptical of prayer in that she refers to prayer as the “last refuge of a scoundrel.” Yet, after seeing the power of prayer at work, she becomes aware of the presence of God in our world. She calls Bart to task when he would rather take the snow day and go sledding than accept the gift of time he has received to study.

There is more to prayer than just the act of praying; there is usually an action required on our part. For Bart, he was not going to pass the test just by receiving the snowstorm - he needed to put in the effort and time to study.

If you watch to the end, he actually failed the test but in the end because of his studying he was able to demonstrate to the teacher that he had the applied knowledge, and for that was granted the extra mark needed to pass. It wasn’t the snowstorm that got Bart the passing grade, it was the sacrifice of not playing with friends during the snow day and studying that pushed him to a passing grade. The answer to his prayer came through being accountable to the gift of time, and using it wisely even though it meant giving up something fun and exciting.

Though there are times we may be skeptical of God, or Prayer, God is ever ready to surprise us with a continued presence and love in our world.