Prayer Changes Meናሙና

If you’ve used an ATM before, you know that the process is simple. You put in your card, enter your pin, punch in your amount, and a couple of seconds later, you have dollar bills in your hands.

If only prayer would work like that. Do we interact with God the same way we do with an ATM? “Hey God, it’s me. I need this right here. Thank you, Amen.” The frustration builds when God’s ATM seems broken, and you don’t get a response right away.

We miss the very essence of prayer when our focus is solely on what we want and what we need. Prayer requires us to step out and follow the Lord into the unknown.

In Mark 8, we see a story of an unusual interaction with Jesus. Some people came and brought a man who was blind to Jesus. They begged Him to touch him. Imagine the perplexed looks on their faces and the shock they had when Jesus did something they didn’t expect. Instead of just touching this man and restoring His sight right there on the spot, “He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.”

To see again, the blind man had to trust Jesus and follow Him in the darkness until he could see. He had his interaction with Jesus, and in the end, his sight was restored.

Prayer is our direct connection to the Father. It changes us. Whether you identify with one of those who begged Jesus to touch the blind man or the blind man who allowed Jesus to lead him away, out of the village, rest assured that you can trust Him. Take His hand and follow Him.