Stay in tune with God to see results

Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, Chabad Jewish Center, 1203 W. 19th St.:

Let’s preface this with a greater question: Can it possibly be that prayer goes unanswered? Some will tell you that every prayer is answered, but sometimes the answer is “no.”

Some will tell you that, yes, prayer is always answered, but perhaps only in a spiritual realm – prayer cannot always affect the coarseness of our material world. But this cannot be, for we did not pray for a spiritual blessing, but for a material one. The blessing must therefore return to the place from whence the prayer emanated.

We must therefore say that God hears and answers every prayer, in our world, now, for the one who prayed and for that which he prayed. The question is, however, do we hear his answers?

By way of analogy: When you send an e-mail, do you know if it has reached the intended inbox? You can’t know, because you are on the sending, not receiving, end.

So how do you ensure that your e-mail reaches its proper addressee? You must be certain that you’re logged on to the Internet, your e-mail is functioning properly and you type the address carefully. Then you rely on your Internet service provider to do its job by getting the e-mail to its intended recipient.

The same is true with your prayers: If you feel that your prayers are unanswered, check the connection. Ensure that your mind is hooked up to the right place. To be more in tune to God’s ways, we must be more in tune to his will and bring our lives into harmony with God’s desire.

Invest more in your prayer. And pray again. And then again. The rest is up to God, whose reliability rating surpasses that of even the most dependable ISP.

– Send e-mail to Zalman Tiechtel at rabbi@jewishku.com

Calls to God not as easy as voice mail

The Rev. Beau Abernathy, pastor, Crosspointe Church, 1414 W. Sixth St., Suite 100:

Have you ever read, “Imagine if God had voice mail?” It goes something like this: “Thank you for calling heaven. For English, press one. For Spanish, press two. For all other languages, press three. Please select from one of the following options: Press one for guidance, two for requests, three for ‘why is this happening to me?’ For reservations to heaven, please enter JOHN followed by the numbers 3-16. For answers to nagging questions about dinosaurs or life on other planets and suffering, please wait until you arrive here to ask that question. For the purpose of life, please read my best-seller. Thank you, and have a heavenly day.”

Seriously, in the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, we see six steps in two verses of what to do when God doesn’t answer prayer: “I will climb into my watchtower now, and I will wait to see what the Lord will say and how he will answer my questions. Then the Lord said to me, ‘Write my answer in large clear letters so that a runner can read it and tell everyone. But these things that I plan [talking about the plan for your life] will not happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for surely it will take place. It will not be delayed.'”

Here’s what you should do: wait (I must want to hear God); withdraw (decide to be alone in a quite place); wait; watch; write (record the ideas that you receive); worship (thanking God for his answer).

Sounds simple – but it isn’t easy. God’s open invitation – without voice mail – is Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

– Send e-mail to Beau Abernathy at beaumerna@sbcglobal.net.