Praying for Parking

by | Mar 9, 2023 | 2013 | 0 comments

Recently I joined in on a conversation between two of my friends talking about the fact that they would always pray for parking when going somewhere by car, like to a shopping mall.

On the other hand, I have another friend who refuses to pray for parking. His argument is that God is too busy with more important things than to listen to requests for good parking spots. I think in some circles the issue has almost become a serious theological debate, albeit light-hearted. But just maybe the question of whether we should, or should not, pray for parking actually goes much deeper than parking lots.

Jesus our example

The best example to look at would undoubtedly be Jesus Christ himself. He had a very resolute prayer life. He would pray at any given moment. Yet, it is also clear that he would purposely set aside time for prayer. Therefore, following Jesus’ example it looks like we should pray at all times. Or as the Apostle Paul said, “Pray without ceasing” (1Thessalonians.5:17). Many people foster this habit of praying throughout the day. The clue is that they seem to be talking to a close friend who is continually with them as they move through life. However, if we look at Jesus’ example, it is still important to make specific time for prayer alone, without any other distractions. We have numerous incidents of Jesus going off on his own to pray, e.g. (Matthew14:23).

Jesus’ disciples obviously took notice of his prayer life, because although they most likely were used to praying, they still asked him to teach them to pray. Studying what is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:1-4; Matthew 6:5-13) helps us to see what and how we should pray. However, Jesus did not mean it to be the only prayer we should pray, or that each time we pray we have to include everything found in this prayer. One interesting point that I believe the disciples would have picked up on is that Jesus tells them to pray, “Our Father…” Right up front Jesus is letting them in on why we pray. God desires a personal relationship with us and therefore we can pray to him as our Heavenly Father.

In some ways the real ‘Lord’s Prayer’ is found in Matthew 26:36 – 45. We have been blessed and honoured to have been able to listen in on this extremely personal and heartfelt prayer. Although Jesus was fully human, he was still fully God and yet prayer was still a deep, continuous integral part of his life. Just think then for a moment how important it should be in our daily lives. Prayer should be the air we breathe.

The purpose of prayer

The question is, what is the purpose of prayer in the first place? Unfortunately many of us often tend to pray primarily for some or other physical thing. Sometimes our prayers are like shopping lists, or our Christmas gift list to Santa Clause. After all doesn’t the Bible say, ‘Ask and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7)? The problem is that we tend to take verses such as this totally out of context. Now of course it is not wrong to ask God for physical things. Does it not say in Philippians chapter four that we should present our requests to God? However, once again the context in Philippians is that we should not be anxious about anything, but trust in God and also give thanks to him. Yet still, how many times in our lives does our loving God give us what we pray for? However, once again this is not the main purpose of prayer. The central reason for prayer is to build a close relationship with our loving Father in Heaven. I challenge you,for a week to pray daily without asking God for anything physical. For a week just praise and worship God in your prayers, and when speaking to him ask him to speak to you. Ask him to give you things like a deeper faith and trust in him and Jesus our Saviour. Ask him to give you more of his love, kindness and patience. It is a tough challenge, but you will be amazed at how it will change your perspective on life and more importantly deepen your relationship with God.

What about unanswered prayers?

A discussion that often arises amongst Christians is why hasn’t God answered my prayer? I have heard some scary reasons for unanswered prayer such as “Maybe you need to pray harder,” or “Maybe there is some deep sin in your life that you must first repent of before God will answer you.” The implications are almost that you need to twist God’s arm a bit harder, or that you are obviously a sinner and therefore God can’t or won’t hear you. I somehow doubt the Biblical validity of such statements.

The truth is no prayer ever goes unanswered and no prayer is ever wasted. Somebody once said, “It feels like my prayers are just bouncing off the ceiling.” The implication was that they were not getting through to God’s ear in heaven. A very astute person answered saying, “That’s fine, because God is actually in the room with you”. God hears all of our prayers.

Here’s a thought. Maybe the answer is “No.” Or maybe the answer is, “Yes, I’ve heard your prayer but you have to wait a while.” Our idea of answered prayer tends to be that it must be “yes” and quickly at that. Often the answer is not what we are looking for or expecting. It therefore either catches us by surprise or, if we are not rather waiting on the Lord, we miss it completely.

Most faiths have prayer as part of their religion and customs, but it is only in Christianity where the focus is foremost on building a closer, loving relationship with our God. In prayer we also learn to trust God fully. It is seldom easy to pray, “Your will O God be done, not mine”. Prayer is a massive subject and we have only scratched the surface for now.

I too pray for parking. Sometimes God says “Sure, no problem.” Other times the answer is, “Today you need to learn patience.” Pray for parking if you like, but don’t forget to also talk to our loving Father about everything on your heart, about the important things in life. Do it now, he is dying to have a chat with you.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *