Have you ever prayed for sunshine?  Oh, you know those birthday parties you have planned for the kids and you NEED them to be outside so the kids don’t mess up your house, and you have all of these cool activities that require space and a yard.  But more times than not, the forecast might even say sunshine will be…but that dark random thunderstorm appears just when the kids arrive, and they’re all inside…and you’re insane.

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All of the above are weather-related whispers of prayers that we all make at one time or another.  However, we make much more important prayers, earnest and heartfelt prayers for things that are life and death situations.  And of course, we choose life.  We pray for the one in the hospital, for those fleeing their homes in fires, for a son or daughter that desperately needs a job.  And we all end our prayers with a petition for good health, provision, safety, etc. for our family and friends, because that’s what we need…isn’t it?

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But more times than not, and repeatedly over the course of our lives, we get just the opposite of what we pray for.  Health wanes, it fails, and for some of our family members it disappears and we’ve lost someone and we’re stunned that what we prayed for ended up being death, instead of life.  We’ve watched those fleeing the fires on the news, and we all join in prayer for these homes to be saved, as we watch families run in terror with suitcases in hand.  And then we see the photos of the homes burned to the ground. Just the opposite of what we hoped would happen.  And that son or daughter in need of a job, well sometimes it’s years and the perfect job doesn’t unfold and someone else gets it.  Or the pay isn’t good, or whatever…it just doesn’t pan out for our good…we say….

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Why does God tell us to pray and ask for our daily bread, and then sometimes it seems what we’re given is stale and full of mold? 

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I often revisit the Lord’s Prayer, and just recently I started again with just the beginning address…

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Our Father…

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Sometimes I never get past that intro, because it sets my heart in position of daughter to father.  And this is hard for many of us, if our relationships with our fathers weren’t stellar.  Maybe he wasn’t around or was inattentive or even abusive.  That’s why it’s SO IMPORTANT to get the concept of Our Father in the sense that it was intended.  He’s a good father that knows best, whether we understand it or not.

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Good fathers know when to allow their child to try that first hard piece of candy, but not until the child can manage without choking.  Good fathers hold the hands of their children when crossing a street, until that child matures and learns to cross by looking both ways – something he saw his father do.  Good fathers listen with understanding but answer with wisdom.  But even good fathers get it wrong, hurt our feelings, make mistakes and even wrong choices as parents.

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However, Our Father doesn’t.  So when he says to pray and ask for daily bread, he also says to start the prayer by addressing his position (and ours) before we ask.

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As long as we walk on the planet, there will be soggy rains, downpours that flood, fires that erupt, and yes…beautiful snow that falls.  But even snow turns to slush when the temperatures rise.

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The one thing I do know is that we can trust in his good plan and his will for our lives, to bring us through all of the seasons and the weather, as these things turn and change and appear once again.

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February.  It’s the season and the month where many are praying for an end to winter storms.  Others are wishing for one more chance at snow.  It’s the season when many are planning dates with the ones they love, and others are mourning the loss of the one date they’ll never have again.  And it’s the second month of the year already, and we are wondering how in the world does time fly so fast?

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Be encouraged.  Revisit The Lord’s Prayer, and linger at those first two words when you pray.  And then you might not want to ask for anything at all, but rather lay back in the arms of the One who create you, formed you and gave you life.  And just receive his best in his time…as the winds and rains blow…and snowflakes fall.