Expiration Dates on Prayer

Have you ever wondered if there was an expiration day on a prayer that is prayed?  Maybe there is on those prayers we deliver to the throne room ultimatum style.  Or, maybe those prayers never make it.  The more I learn about God, the more it seems He is not really into being told what to do.  His agenda and time table is far more set than most of us want to believe.  Or, maybe prayers prayed for someone are held in trust as long as the person lives and only then are they canceled out. 

 

While I am not sure about prayers with expiration dates, I do know that some prayers hang out there wherever prayers hang out for a long time before God seems to act on them.  And, it also seems true that some prayers just are prayers that take a long time to come to fruition.  For example, the first prayer I prayed for both our daughters was a prayer I prayed when I held them in my arms shortly after their birth.  It was a simple prayer as I prayed that each one would grow and come to love Jesus.  It took some years, but it is a blessing in both their lives for which I am eternally grateful.

 

Other prayers are similar.  We may pray and pray for a healing, or for a restoration of a relationship, or the return of a loved one from a dangerous place.  We may pray for someone who suffers from an addiction, or who battles with an inner darkness, or who seems determined not to respond to offers of the love of Jesus.  Jesus taught us to be persistent and sometimes that provides our only hope.  One thing I have come to believe is that the effect of our praying may be one of those things which outlives us.  It may be a heritage we leave behind when we leave this earth for the heavenly place.