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Nov 30, 2024 06:00am

Bouncing Off the Ceiling

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Let me ask you a question — have any of you ever prayed and felt like your prayers just bounced off the ceiling? Come on, raise your hand… don’t let me be the only one!

When that happens to me, I know the problem is me because the Bible says, over and over, that God wants to hear from all of us, especially His children (those who have accepted His Son, Jesus Christ, as their Savior).

He wants us to pray about everything: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God” (Phil. 4:6-7).

He always hears us when we pray. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (I John 5:14).

He is ready and willing to hear (and act as He deems best) when we pray: “’Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘I tell you the truth. If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:22-25).

Yes, God always hears and answers our prayers, but will He always answer our prayers like we want Him to? No. Because we may not be asking for what is best for us. He answers will come in one of three forms — yes, no or wait! Does it mean He doesn’t care or doesn’t love us when He doesn’t give us what we want and how we want it? Of course not!

Think of it this way — your two-year-old child, the one you love with all your heart, may desperately want to play with your kitchen knives, but are you going to give him the sincere desire of his heart? Of course not! Your immediate answer is “no” because you know he will be hurt if give him what he’s asked for.

Remember, God will always do what is best for His child, even if we don’t agree with His answer at the time. He has a plan for you, and He will always do what is best for you. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” So we must trust His answer, even if we don’t like His answer.

But back to my question… what about those “prayers bouncing off the ceiling” moments in my life? I know the problem is with me, but how do I fix it? I don’t know if this will help you or not, but let me tell you what puts me in the right frame of mind for prayer:

I picture myself as little girl, with a dirty face and tattered clothes, standing in front to two large golden doors. Although I can’t even reach the doorknob, when my fingers touch the doors, they swing wide open.

Right in front of me, there are what seems like hundreds of steps leading down to an open floor, with thousands of beings milling around and singing praises to someone sitting on a throne at the top of hundreds of steps on the other side, straight across from me. In my heart, I know it’s God because His Son, Jesus is standing right beside him.

Although I don’t see how I can possibly reach Him, I start down the steps and immediately my foot touches the floor. Suddenly, the beings start whispering “It’s a child of the King! It’s a child of the King!” and they step aside, making the way clear for me to go to the steps on the other side. And the same thing happens — as soon as my foot touches the first step, I’m immediately up the stairs and standing before God, who is holding out His arms and smiling at me!

My responses are varied, depending on my heart needs at the time:

Sometimes I just bow before Him in humble adoration.
Sometimes I fall on my face in confession of sin.
Sometimes I’m so tired, I just sit down beside Him and lean against His knee while His hand brushes my hair.
Sometimes I hurt so bad that I just crawl up in His lap and let Him put His arms around me while I cry.

That’s when I know that He loves me and always has time for His Baby Girl. He’s never too busy to give me His total attention. And at that moment, all I want to do is share my heart with Him and my prayers go right past the ceiling and directly to the throne of God.

Of course, my way of getting my heart right and my prayers heading in the right direction may not work for you. Maybe it helps you to sing praise songs, read Scripture, meditate on Him or… you fill in the blank! Whatever works for you, do it! You surely don’t want to keep the Creator of the Universe — the One who cares about even the smallest detail of your life — waiting!