7-22-2023 11:21pm

Strong spirits: who can pray?

Photo: Andrea Piacquadio

Who can pray? Who does pray? Who gets answers to their prayers?

Anyone can pray. There are no prerequisites. You don't have to be at your best. You don't have to clean up. You don't need a special language. People pray who aren't sure if they believe in God, or whether prayer does any good. Anyone can pray.

And I believe everyone does pray, in one form or another, to one entity or another. I think we are wired for prayer. We may spend most of our time ignoring God, but when push goes to shove, most of us will find ourselves crying out, looking for help, raising questions- in short, praying.

I also believe everyone gets answers to their prayers, though not always what you wanted or not always when you wanted. Jesus promised it. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7)

The Bible is full of stories of religious and irreligious people who cried out to God and had their prayers answered. How about you? He's waiting to answer...

Besides serving as pastor at Caledonia Congregational Church, Gary Schwerin is the Spiritual Development Minister for the YMCA of the Rock River Valley and Executive Director of Bridge Ministries of Rockford. Prior to launching Bridge Ministries, Gary spent many years in leadership with Young Life. His columns appear here every Sunday - to see them all, subscribe to our daily email.