The Prayer’s Almanac - God as a Master Gardener

I don't know what you've heard, but the truth is... “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16 (NKJV)

Have you noticed that your modern, worldly guy has sort of... evolved past prayer. He's working with a new playbook that says wealth comes from two things: a sweaty brow or a cunning heart. Between you and me, he's looking for every shortcut to avoid the sweaty brow part.

And hey, if someone else stumbles? He sees it as a convenient stepping stone. "Aww! Too bad for them!" he thinks, while mentally calculating his new advantage. He might even give their stumble a little "nudge" with some breakroom gossip. "Wow, that's terrible about Susan. Has HR heard about this yet?"

It's truly a spectacle to see the lengths a person will go to in order to acquire more. "More" is the name of the game, and "You need excess to impress!" is his motto. You have to wonder if he'll ever hit his full capacity. For generations, people like him have ended up on their last day of Earthly existence, looking around at everything they've gathered, and asking with a sigh, "Why wasn’t 'more' enough?"

So, here's a question: Does a $30,000 watch tell time better than one for 50 bucks at Walmart? Does a fire-breathing Italian supercar get you to the office any better than a beater from a "Buy-Here, Pay-Here" lot? (Alright, maybe it does, but you get the point.) How many empty bedrooms does a mansion need? How many commas can you possibly cram onto a bank statement? Can you see where I’m going?

When a man gets good enough at scheming and conniving, he convinces himself he can get anything he needs, or thinks he needs. And something religious, like prayer, feels... antiquated in his New World Order. He doesn't need to ask a "higher power" for a thing. "Why should I?" He laughs at the thought. "Prayer is for old-timers and people who can't hack it on their own. Besides, it’s another way the church draws you in to get your money. Name one time prayer’s ever actually been proven to work!"

In the end, his life story will feature a post-credits scene, with a single line scrolling across the bottom of the screen: “No knees were bent in the production of this life.”

Let's be real: for many folks, prayer feels like calling a number that's been disconnected. There’s never an answer at the other end; just so much static on the line.

But the Bible describes prayer as our path to the Master Gardener of the universe—the ultimate source of living water that never runs dry. James, Jesus’ younger brother, put it pretty simply: We should talk to the Gardener about healing whatever is wrong in our own plot, whether it's the bugs chewing on our leaves, the blight damaging our spirit, or just our soul that's been left out in the cold to wither and die.

Here's the best part: Jesus took on the landscaping project Himself. He tore out the overgrown wall of thorns and weeds that used to block our way. Because of what He did, the gate to the heavenly garden is propped wide open again. There's no 'Keep Out' sign, no waiting for visiting hours. The passageway for prayer is always clear, thanks to Jesus Christ.

However, to some Christians of today, the vision of prayer still remains blurred. For example, in the unofficial handbook of Christian responses to illness, there appear to be three primary levels of engagement, but only one is effective.

·         Level One: The Drive-By. This is for minor stuff. We hear about a sniffle or a sprain and perform the classic Christian drive-by: "Oh, we'll keep you in prayer, dear! It's probably just a 24-hour thing." Then we peel out of the conversation, terrified they might ask us to pray right then and there. The horror! (They’re probably thinking, "Thanks for nothing".)

·         Level Two: The Panic Button. This is when we realize the illness is serious. We hit the panic button and launch a cliché scripture into the air, but we don't know what we're talking about. We're secretly worried that if a miraculous cure doesn't happen by Tuesday, we might have wrecked God's reputation. Quick tip: God's PR department is doing just fine without our help. A total cure might be beyond our understanding, but it's never beyond His.

·         Level Three: The Power Cord. And then there’s the right way. This is when we plug in the power cord. We remember all the times He’s already come through for us, recall the baffled looks on doctors' faces, and team up with the Holy Spirit to make our case. We also try to keep our own line to heaven clear—living right, so our prayers are always set to "peak output." We tap into the incredible power grid available to all of us. The link is simple: We speak the words "by His stripes, we have been healed," and we believe it with everything we've got.

Please allow me to swap metaphors, my friends. Prayer isn't a vending machine; it's a garden. You can't just put a coin in and get a tomato out. Consider God as a Master Gardener.

• Prepping the Soil (Preparing Your Heart): You can't plant in hard, rocky ground. This is the work of confession and humility, pulling the weeds of pride and doubt so you're ready to receive.

• Planting the Seeds (Making the Request): This is the specific act of asking. You plant the seed of a request in the garden of God's will.

• Watering and Waiting (Perseverance): You don't dig up the seed every day to see if it's growing. You water it with consistent prayer and trust the process, even when you can't see the progress.

• The Harvest (The Answer): This is reaping what you've sown and prayed for. The answer might look like the vegetable you expected, or it might be something else entirely that the garden needed more of.

  
  

Here’s the wild thing about prayer: it has an effect, even if the person praying is on the fence about it. An increased level of belief you bring to the table appears to amplify the results.

So, what's the takeaway? Go looking for God's Kingdom. Pray for His plan in your life, not just your wish list. Then, wait for His answer, just as you would expect a package that you know is on the truck for delivery.

As the saying goes, when you pray for rain, bring an umbrella. Why? Because He promises that the prayers of a person praying with the right intentions don't just disappear into the ceiling—they have serious power. They "avail much." How much? Try it and see!

I don’t know what you’ve heard, but the truth is... “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16 (NKJV)