Ask for Miracles

I can’t remember that last time I saw a miracle. And I often wonder if it’s because my prayers have become formulaic. It’s hard to admit, but I think that I could probably recite, almost to the exact wording, what my prayer was last night, which was probably what I prayed the night before and the night before that. And it’s certainly not because I have everything that I want. There are actually some things that I need that I don’t have. But I think I’ve become comfortable in my relationship with God. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly impacts the way that I pray.

I certainly can remember how fervent my prayer life use to be. One time in particular comes to mind. I was fresh out of college and decided to live on my own and try my hand at a music career. I knew that a music career wouldn’t be forever, I had already been accepted to graduate school, but I just wanted to try it once before I gave my life to academia. So I moved to Brooklyn, recorded an album in a makeshift studio in a friend’s apartment, and spent my evenings and weekends peddling my art. As you can imagine, making art (as much as I valued it) didn’t always pay the bills, and I often found myself scraping often, not being able to make ends meet, despite picking up as many temp jobs as I could.

Then one weekend all of my bills added up to $303, and I needed to pay them in about four days; I had no idea where the money would come from. So I prayed. It wasn’t an anxious or strained prayer, but a faithful prayer asking God for a miracle. I was specific, asking God for the $303 that I needed to be able to cover my bills for that month. The next day I got a letter in the mail from a former employer (that I hadn’t worked for in eight months). They had accidentally withheld $305 from my last paycheck, and were sending the money now.

Miracles happen every day, regardless of whether I ask for them or not. But what if the practice of prayer and petition is not to convince God to give me something that I need, but to open my eyes to the miracles that he performs in my life every day. Maybe my prayer life has become formulaic because I’ve stopped asking God for miracles. Maybe if I start, I can see the miracles that happen in my life every single day.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6)

Jael Amador writes from New York.

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