Pray About It

We say “I’ll pray about it” when we don’t want to give an answer.  Isn’t that the starkest truth of the matter? If we knew for sure, or if we could win the argument wouldn’t we just pursue it?  “I’ll pray about it” is a stalling tactic.  Isn’t it?  Now actually, I also do believe that people do pray and seek God’s input, but in the moment the phrase fulfills both the function of stalling and the function of a promise to consider carefully.

So what about God’s input? How does God answer when we “pray about it?”  Seems like it’s usually a generic “sense” of something. Sometimes circumstances or people might play a roll in the answer. I’m not saying that God doesn’t answer these prayers, but I am suspicious of the initial motivation.  Do we really confidently expect that God’s authoritative answer will be evident?

I am not opposed to “praying about it.”  I merely suggest we do a little cultural introspection on the topic, especially those within modern Christendom. Is it a good faith request?  Or is it a ploy?  I think it can be both.  Nevertheless, Lord Hear Our Prayer!