Daily Answers to Prayer

Read: John 2:1-11

In the book  Prayer written by Simon Tugwell, the following is said:

“St. Augustine makes an identical point about miracles in his discussion of the miracle at Cana. ‘Our Lord’s miracle in turning water into wine comes as no surprise to those who know that it is God who did it. At the wedding that day he made wine in the six waterpots he had had filled with water; but he does the same thing every year in the vines. The servants put the water in the jugs, and he turned it into wine. In just the same way the Lord turns into wine the water that the clouds drop. Only that does not amaze us, because it happens every year…So the Lord kept back certain unusual things for himself to do, to wake us up with miracles to worship him.’”

As I read this passage I was struck by the comparison of something that occurs regularly vs. something that occurs only every now and then. We take for granted that, year in and year out, God regularly sends water from the skies to nourish the grapes on the vine. These grapes then become, under the hand of the wine maker, the wine which we then drink. This process has gone on for thousands of years. We accept it as the norm. Yet, Jesus took the same water—this time in jugs—and instantly turned it into wine. Presto!! A miracle has happened.

I wonder about our prayer life. Is it regular or occasional? By that, I mean, do we regularly come into God’s presence and establish our relationship with him, or do we only do it when it is convenient.

I suspect, that those people that regularly commune with God, know about the regular answers to prayer that occur on a daily basis. It is those that only occasionally come before God that wonder why he never answers prayer. They come seeking a miracle, and most often go away disappointed because God didn’t perform as they had expected. I wonder what would have happened had they been in constant prayer and communion with God? Might the seemingly impossible situation that they faced have been daily broken down into smaller segments—and perhaps—those smaller segments have been answered?

Perhaps, we need to understand that God does answer prayer. However, I suspect that he would prefer to answer smaller prayers on a daily basis rather than provide miraculous answers on an occasional basis. He desires the fellowship that comes from daily walking and talking with him. I don’t mean to say that God does not do miracles. I believe that he does. These miracles, though, are few and far between—especially compared to the smaller answers to prayer that He can give on a daily basis.