Hi, I was talking to someone recently and telling them how much I had been helped by prayer. They responded by saying that prayer was the same as having clear intent. I wondered what your thoughts are about this. Are they the same or is there a difference.
Many thanks
—Melanie, UK
Dear Melanie,
Thanks for your question.
Clear intent can indeed be one of many aspects of prayer. For example, Jesus said to “Pray believing….”
“Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Mark 11:24
Prayer can also include both the devotional call to God, and sometimes the seemingly miraculous answers to prayer.
Something about what your friend said has caused you to write in for clarity and reassurance. Were you trying to help your friend become more spiritually open? Had you miscalculated the person’s degree of spiritual sensitivity? I am trying to read between the lines as to what happened. Did your friend’s words somehow undermine your own faith in what you had experienced through prayer?
Some people are only comfortable with keeping a limited and intellectual explanation for the spiritual wonders around them. What you describe is a mild form of what Jesus warns about below.
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” Matthew 7:6
Was your friend gently trampling underfoot the wonderful spiritual gifts you were sharing in that conversation? This would only have been done to keep it within the comfort zone of his or her own understanding. So, ultimately, the lesson is for you to be more careful about when, where and why you share holy things.
I hope this is helpful. These links may also be of interest:
God bless you.
Joy to you,
Mary Kretzmann
