Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Murphy's Law vs. Prayer
I'm sure we're all familiar with the concepts of Murphy's Law and of prayer. But just in case you need a quick refresher....
Murphy's Law states that anything that possibly can go wrong, will.
Prayer is supplication to a higher power - in my case, it usually involves pleading and often times, begging.
Baby Girl had her birthday last week and I was afraid that Murphy was going to win out. But you know, prayer is a pretty powerful thing... let me give you my examples.
#1 - Baby Girl got up on her special day and stumbled into the living room where she just about passed out. She ate a few bites of breakfast and then was sick to her stomach several times. Not a great way to start out the day. So, I said a quick prayer. By that afternoon, she was feeling so much better. By the evening? She was 100%! The majority of her birthday was spent with her feeling good.
Murphy's Law - 0
Prayer - 1
#2 - We invited some of Baby Girl's friends over for a party Saturday morning. We had planned for the kids to spend the first hour of the party outside. When we first looked at the 10 day forecast it said the weather would be nice and cool. But, as we got closer, they started predicting a wind storm with gusts up to 40 miles an hour right during the party. Not the best weather for kids to be outside painting in. Again, I prayed. And we had a lovely breeze, but no major winds. Our artists created their masterpieces without any interruptions.
Murphy's Law - 0
Prayer - 2
#3 - As soon as the birthday guests started arriving at 10:00 I realized that the gardeners usually showed up around 10:30 every Saturday (we are renting and are NOT allowed to touch the landscaping for any reason). The kids were outside painting and, once again, I said a quick prayer asking that this party would go on as planned. And, once again, my little prayer was answered. The gardeners were late. They didn't get to the house till around 1:00 that afternoon.
Murphy's Law - 0
Prayer - 3
Apparently good ol' Murphy is losing his touch! These examples may seem silly, but to me, they aren't. They are beautiful reminders that God does love us and He wants us to be happy. He cares enough about us to be involved in our lives - even in the little things! Now that I've learned this lesson (again), maybe I'll be able to remember it for awhile... I hope...

17 comments:

Kristina P. said...

I love this post! What great examples of the power of prayer.

flip flop mama said...

What a great post to help us remember that God does care about us.

Holly (2 Kids and Tired) said...

There are no silly examples of prayer. Great post!

Heather said...

Those are great! I agree, they aren't silly. If they are important to you, they are important to Heavenly Father, too.

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Not to offend you, but I have strange reactions when people claim that God changed things like the weather or how a child feels on a birthday party day... I am sure people pray longer and more fervently over things such as horrible illnesses and disastrous weather crises, but those horrendous things still happen. I wonder, shouldn't we be praying for the ability to handle the crises that will SURELY happen, rather than praying for them to not happen at all?

I really, REALLY don't mean to offend you, Melissa. I have no doubt about your faith and I am truly of the belief that everyone is entitled to believe what they want. But this is one thing about people that pray for miracles that I don't understand. As it's been said before: God hears and answers ALL prayers. But sometimes the answer is no... Would you doubt God's desires for us to be happy if all of your examples above had gone horribly sour instead of sweet?

I truly am interested in your answer! :)

Ally said...

Beautiful. :-)

I know that God cares about us, and sometimes the 'little miracles' are just as important as the big ones.

I know that God wants us to learn some lessons here - and thus, some of the big-ticket burdens aren't necessarily taken away from us. My constant pain is a testament to that.

But I do find that prayer, whether asking for relief or simply strength, has a way of connecting us with Him, and thus with his love and concern, and helping us to see His will for our lives a little more clearly.

I believe that God knows that sometimes the little things mean a great deal to us, and sometimes the big things teach us our most effective lessons. And He's not opposed to denying us either of those.

Your story is a wonderful example of that.

I'm so glad things turned out well!!! ;-)

Randi said...

I've heard it said that prayer doesn't necessarily change our circumstances, but it does change us. I think your prayers changed you for the better, and made your relationship with God that much stronger. Whichever way the answer to the prayer goes - yes or no- the important part is that you build that relationship.

I'm so glad you had a wonderful day, and that you are willing to open up and take the time to see the beautiful things that Heavenly Father does do for you!!

Tausha said...

I think that it is the little answers that help us to realize that He is always there-for big and little things! So glad that the birthday party was a success, and the birthday girl wasn't sick.
I really needed this post-thanks so much for following your heart and posting-your sweet words helped a fellow mom more than you know!

... said...

i believe prayer is powerful. i like what justrandi said about how prayer changes us. so true.

i'm glad you felt God's presence and love this last weekend. glad the party went well, too. the trick is to hold on to this feeling and knowledge next time you don't feel His presence or think He's not on your side.

how's the decluttering going?

Millie said...

I have better "luck" with secret thinking prayer than out-loud kneeling prayer. I hope that's not a terrible attitude. It's almost like Satan works harder on me when he sees me kneeling and hears my words. It's like I make myself more vulnerable.

But I must be wrong about that, or we wouldn't have that doctrine, right?

Nancy Face said...

This made my eyes tear up. I believe that when God answers our prayers concerning the little details of our lives, it really does show us how much He loves us and cares about those little things that matter only to us and to our loved ones. :)

This was wonderful, and it made me happy! :)

Yvonne said...

Thank you. We just need to keep noticing His hand in our lives, eh.

I'm so grateful to know He is mindful of me and is ALWAYS there.

Blog Stalker said...

In darth vader voice - "Never underestimate the POWER of a prayer" awesome post. glad it all worked out!

Murphy who?

Have a great day!

Unknown said...

Love, love, love this post and what a great reminder! Just last week, we couldn't find our camera before our trip. We had Haddie say a little prayer and not even a minute later, we found it.

Jean Knee said...

who's Murphy and why does he get his own law?

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

What a beautiful post! I needed this today.

Super Happy Girl said...

This post made me so happy :D