Just before Christmas, the hospital where I had surgery reaches out to me to sign up for the Covid vaccine.  This is when making an appointment to get poked and jabbed seems impossible.  All open slots are grabbed long before I power up the internet.  But not so for my good Catholic hospital.  They send me an e-mail where I can sign up with them as quick as greased lightning.  Yeah!

That kind of service seems foreign in this day and age.  Yes, advertisements rush into our faces from almost everywhere.  Ads pop up on the computer screen to the point that I cease noticing them.  Makes me wonder about how responsive God will be to my prayers.  My cries for help.  How about His service?

Or are all His lines jammed?  Are my prayers too much like pop-up ads flooding the Almighty’s computer screen?  Snow falling to the ground on a warm day, evaporating before hitting terra firma?

Ever wonder?  Of course, you have.  Prayer is an act of faith.  Does God even exist?   If so, does He hear us?  Or does He care?  Is He powerful enough?  Even willing to act on our behalf?  All the while, we’re trusting in Him whom we’ve never seen or audibly heard from.  That sounds like faith to me.

Foolish?  A colossal waste of time?  Not in my book.  I stake my life, and my eternal destiny, on what’s written in His Book, God’s Word, the Bible.  What specifically?  To begin with, God tells us how much He loves us.  John 3:16–‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him (Jesus) should not perish but have eternal life.’  That’s but one example.  Comb through your Bible for more.  There’s a ton.

Also, the Bible tells me that the Lord cares for us.  Jesus tells us to come to Him with whatever weighs us down.   Matthew 11:28–‘Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’  Give nail-biting fears to Him.  Leave them on His doorstep.  And then step away.  Far away.  Easy-peasy?  Not for me.  But I’m giving it the old college try.  C+ is still a passing grade!

And here in Isaiah 65, we’re reassured that the Lord has His ear to the railroad tracks with whatever barrels toward us.  He hears us; and, best of all, He responds–‘Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear’ (Is. 65:24).  He’s working for us BEFORE we utter even one word in prayer.  How about that for a promise?  Believe it or not?  I believe and trust what God says more than what anyone else says.  Including me.  My hat is in His ring where it will stay put.

So, this week when something raises your anxiety level, when it seems there’s no way out and you’re trapped, then pray.  Keep at it.  Keep asking.  Keep seeking.  Keep knocking.  Keep coming to your Lord Jesus in prayer.

And then there’s that uphill battle about waiting for Him.  This Advent season reminds us that Jesus, the Messiah, is coming.  We know He’s come.  Still, we must wait on Him.  Even get out of the way.  That’s my challenge.  To move aside.  For Him who comes to help and answer our prayers.

Hang in there.  And cool your heels.

Lord Jesus, for always answering my prayers, I thank you.  Amen.