Take two and call me in the morning

I have had some pain in a tooth for the last week, so I reluctantly yielded my fears and went to a dentist. Expecting a cavity, I was surprised when the dentist said he didn’t know exactly what was causing me pain. He suggested a couple options, and like any good health care professional who doesn’t know what the problem is, he prescribed some antibiotics. “Take this and call me if the pain continues or worsens.” I left the dentist office with a mix of hope and uneasiness. I wondered if this will really cure my pain, or if the doctor was just taking a shot in the dark.

I think a lot of times we see prayer as the magical pill to our problems. If you want God to do something, just throw up a prayer. God will fix the problem, won’t he? Now, I’m not saying prayer doesn’t work. In fact, I believe in a huge way that God moves through prayer and that if you spend time doing anything - you should pray. However, too often we see prayer as a “miracle cure” to our problems instead as a divine conversation with the God of the universe. We work under the assumption that if we say the right words we might convince God to give in to what we ask. How arrogant are we to think we have the ability to coerce almighty God? When we approach God with the magical pill mindset we miss out on the relationship God intended to have with us and we’re left feeling like I did as I left the dentist office.

Prayer is a way to interact with the God of creation who desires relationship with us. Prayer is more than just talking, its listening, its yearning for his presence and resting in it. Perhaps prayer works not because God does what we ask, but because through prayer, our hearts align with God and we begin to understand and pray for the work he is already doing. There may be a benefit to “take two and call me in the morning,” but we’re missing out on so much more of God when we only see prayer as a quick fix.