Thoughts about prayers from watching tennis grand slam

To ROR: Hey there, this is rather random, and if you guys think it’s not too appropriate, can pull it down the blog, or just give comments on it. Haha.

1 Feb 2009, Australian Open Grand Final – Rafael Nadal (1) vs Roger Federer (2)

Thought #1: When I pray, I expect God to answer my prayers according to what I want and to see instant results, but God sees the big picture and has set further sights. 2nd set in the game, Fed was up 2-1 in the set, having lost the first set 5-7, so I started praying that God will continue to let Fed to win. But Nadal went on to win the next two game and the score became 3-2 in his favour. I was devastated. Come on God, you can’t do this, he was still winning before I started to pray! Disappointed and tired, I fell into a nap while bargaining and somewhat blaming God. When I woke from my slumber, Fed was up 6-3 and won the second set!! Woohooo. Thing is, I didn’t get to see Fed’s action in his winning set, because I expected God to respond immediately when I prayed, I thought if he didn’t win that point in that game, he was going to lose it completely. How often in our prayer life do we stop trusting God to know better, because he didn’t give in to our requests now, it doesn’t mean He’s not in control.

Thought #2: Pray together. You draw strength and prayers get reinforced when you pray with someone. I refreshed myself and though still seated on the edge, I went online and was so comforted to see my tennis kaki online. She’s not in Singapore, so we don’t call each other often, but she was on skype, and been watching the match since it started too! This is an extract of our conversation:

Friend: what.. did you see that
???
Me: unforced error.
that previous match.. all that deuce just made me scared
Friend: lolz
Me: nadal is so fit..
Friend: yeah. .. heart attack.
Me: argghh
Friend: my knees went weak
YESSSS
hahaha
Me: i think i'm learning a lesson in prayers and faith while watching this!!!!
it can prob fill a blog entry
Friend: lolzz
you know
you know i was thinking
I know our God's arm is not shortened
but i kept pondering if it's the right way to pray and ask God to make a person win in a game
Me: you know.. i had the SAME thought!
i was like.. 'god, i know this sounds ridiculous, but do you think you can let him win'
Friend: and then i decided to pray (IN SPITE of my support for the swiss)
that God, let the HUMBLE man win
Me: HAHAHAHA
Friend: so well, we'll see who's the humble one
Me: after that i went, 'god, you already know who will win, if it's your will, pls let him win!'
wahahahahaha
Friend: YESSS
meanwhile
the Holy Spirit knows who we're supporting
hahahha

That isn’t exactly biblical at all. But you see our struggles. I had greater confidence God heard our prayer, although I didn’t know what results He had planned.

Thought #3: I wondered, if I’ve already prayed once, and God has heard me, then do I have to pray again? If I do, does it mean that my faith is not big enough? I don’t have a ready answer for this. There are TYS answers to this, much as I hate to admit, I don’t always comprehend them. But I do believe being persistent in our prayers is an important aspect of a Christian’s life (Parable of the Persistent Widow Luke 18: 1-8). In faith I pray, yet there’s sometimes a nagging bubble in my head still asking ‘so God what’s going to happen’, an obvious display of lack of faith.

Thought #4: If I knew the ending from the start, would I have prayed as hard? In earlier matches that I was unable to catch live cause I’m at work, I always recorded the matches and will play back when I’m home. But the excitement is watered down since I already know the final results. Then I thought, but if I drew a parallel and knowing that Jesus had won and the work is ‘finished’ when he paid with his life on the cross for my sins, then why do we have to pray so hard? I don’t remember the theology or the sermon pointers on why it’s important to pray (although I did google it and found some resources to remind me later). But personally, in prayers I have found comfort and strength especially when I’m going through tough times. In prayers, I’ve had joy and peace of mind when struggling with decision. In prayers, I’ve found a connection to a big God who cares for the little me. In prayer, I’ve talked to God and He hears me. Whether it’s in praise, thanksgiving, confession, supplication or intercessory, the hallmark of a Christian life is his relentless prayer to a God who listens.

And, today, although it’s been a ridiculous prayer journey in support of a tennis sportsman, I’m glad I did pray this hard.

-Susan-

'You can't go through your whole life regretting matches you almost win.' -Roger Federer-