When we offer up our prayers, we are guaranteed something incredible—we are guaranteed Jesus. And this is the gift we need every moment, in the big and small requests. We need his grace, his mercy, his comfort, and his love. And as we come to him in prayer, as sure as the rains come he will give us himself (Hos. 6:3).

“There are three ways God answers prayer: Yes, no, and wait.” Have you heard this popular phrase? I grew up with this adage swimming in my head. It prompted me to approach my prayer life as if I was shaking a magic 8 ball: Which one of the three will God give this time?

While the sentiment can keep us from falsely believing a kind of prosperity-mindset in our prayer, it leads us into an altogether unhelpful view of prayer. It forces us to believe some of our prayers are successful and some aren’t. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

Throughout Scripture, we don’t see prayer placed in the question-answer dichotomy, but as a means of grace. It’s a form of communion with the Father, that Christ himself modeled and taught us to practice. We discover it used as a response to celebration or sorrow, and rather than one concrete answer, we’ll find grace is the greatest aim of prayer (Ps 86:6; Heb. 4:16). 

This grace isn’t one of many options we will receive: it is guaranteed. Whether we come with the smallest troubles or we repeatedly bring the same request to the throne of grace, we can be sure that we will receive abundantly. We might not receive the material solution we desire, but Christ will always say “yes” to his grace. This should push us to keep running to prayer, not only for an answer, but for the many gifts of grace God will give us in the process. 

The Gift of Humility

Each time we come to the King’s throne with a petition, we are gifted the chance to sit in our humility. It’s important to remember that we don’t call upon an equal to help us, nor do we come with anything to offer. We come to the maker of heaven and earth (Ps. 121:2), the God who holds all things together (Col. 1:17), and the source of every good gift in this world (Jas. 1:17). Each appeal reminds us of the division between us, the created, and God, the Creator.

And this is always a good place to sit. It is the humble who receive grace (1 Pet. 5:5). Jesus tells us it’s only those who humble themselves like children who will enter the kingdom of God (Matt. 18:3-4). If we choose to come before our Lord in prayer sparingly, we are cheating ourselves out of key opportunities to grow in humility and grace.

In his book Teach us to Pray, Gordon Smith echoes this truth saying, “In our praying not only are we asking God to change things, but we are being changed”. One of the ways we change is in our humble recognition of how God is already at work in our lives.

When I’m intentional to pray specific prayers throughout my day, I often start to notice God’s sovereign hand at work more often. Something as simple as a conversation beginning with my husband, or a moment of discipline with my child would have been forgotten as I went about my day. I would have continued to see them as my own triumphs or even my own luck.  But instead, I see these tiny moments and am forced to realize they are not from my own hand.

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