Being raised Catholic and having read the scriptures many times, I had always privately wondered about and even questioned the nature of God and the power of prayer.
I would wonder why, even though millions around the world have prayed for peace, there has always been war. Why countless people have prayed for health, but have just been surrounded by disease. Why so many have prayed for abundance, but have experienced famine. I couldn’t help but privately question why an ever-loving God would ignore such requests.
One day, in a moment of frustration, I had a revelation. I quickly looked back at scriptures and even thought about my own life and prayers I felt weren’t answered. I realized that maybe it wasn’t that they never answered but instead, were never heard.
You see, I came to a realization that the language of God is action. Even though it has been a popular idea to make God similar to the old myths of a genie in a bottle who simply grants wishes to a passerby, that representation of God isn’t supported by anything neither written nor experienced.
God is deaf to your words. God is deaf to anything that isn’t action-driven. We have been produced by this majestic creator with all the tools we need to deliver commanding prayers with our actions. This isn’t a God who simply wants you on your knees praying in vain; he wants you up on your feet and living the prayer.
Now I finally understand why Jesus told his disciples that “When you pray and ask for something, act as if you have already received it and you will be given whatever you ask.”
How would your life be different if you were to pretend God is deaf? How would things change if you change the language in which you spoke to God? What if instead of just praying for peace, you lived peace…instead of praying for health, you lived health, instead of praying for success, you lived success…
What if you acted as if or became the very thing you were praying for?
Love, Peace, Success, Health… these are not things you have, they are not just to be hoped for, they are not miracles to be begged for; these are things you experience when you live accordingly. They are not something you have, they are something you do.
Steve Maraboli
"Life, the Truth, and Being Free"
