Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Philippians 4:6

Small Prayers

Many years ago I was scuba diving at Catalina Island off the shore that faced out to the open Pacific Ocean. I had dived there many times before at various locations around the island, but this was my first time on the windward side. I had seen many incredible things on my dive trips that included giant schools of fish, towering kelp forests, and large sea creatures. But, I had never found anything under the water that I could recover as a souvenir of a dive. On this trip, I remember saying a quick little prayer, “Lord it sure would be nice to find something this time that I could take home with me.” As the dive progressed I swam up to a kelp plant that was standing alone on a rock ledge. Positioned in the middle of the plant was a beautiful large empty crab shell that looked like it had been placed there on display. From its size I could tell it was very old and it was in a location on the plant where it seemed impossible to have gotten there on its own. I have kept that shell to this day as a reminder to me of how God answers prayer, even small ones that might seem insignificant.

Many times I have heard people express the opinion that it is an insult to God to pray for small things, like an upcoming test, a job interview, or a even a road trip free from red lights. I’ve heard them say, “He’s too busy, He’s got bigger things on His mind.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The above verse in Philippians tells us to pray about “everything.” God is never too busy to hear from you and wants you to talk to Him about anything that is of concern to you. If it matters to you, it matters to Him. I often remember listening to my girls when they were very small as they told me about their day. Their concerns were not really significant in the “adult” world, but it mattered to them, so it mattered to me. Besides I just liked to hear them talk.

God feels the same way about you. In truth, there is nothing we could bring before an all-powerful and all-knowing God that could not be labeled as insignificant. Your heavenly Father loves you and wants to be part of every aspect of your life. There is nothing that Satan would love more than to make you believe that God is too busy to hear from you. Satan hates it when we make conversation with our Lord (otherwise known as prayer) a consistent part of our daily lives.

Do you have a concern or request on your mind? Then it is on God’s mind too! Go ahead and ask Him, you might be surprised at what you may find on your next dive into prayer.

Yours in Christ,

Chaplain Brad Green