Winning Words 1/7/13
“Only two things you ignore: things that aren’t important and things you wish weren’t important, and wishing never works.”  (David Shore)  Does it work when you make a wish and, then blow out all of your birthday candles?  Are prayers the same as wishes?  I guess that they’re the same in that they express our desires.  The difference is that prayer is a God-directed belief experience.  Any wishes or prayers?    ;-)  Jack

 FROM WALMART REV:  For me...prayers seem to be more for my discipline and good than changing the mind and sovereignty of God...I'm grateful to be the recipient of an answer to my prayer at times...it stirs my faith in God's intervention in my behalf. "The prayer of a righteous person availeth much." Being qualified as a "righteous person" gives me a greater challenge than the prayer itself...even though, His good grace shines on me often in regards to my conversations with Him.////FROM JACK:  You might try this as a discipline...Put an empty chair in front of you at the coffee shop, and see Jesus (God in human form) in that chair.  Talk to him, friend to friend, using your everyday language.////REV:  Walmart, that indeed would be a site... there are enough folk who already think I'm "not all there"...I don't need any more!!!!////J:  Yes, some people might think that you were "strange," sitting there at the Walmart coffee shop, talking to an empty chair, but, more importantly, what would God think?

 FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  Just looked at the meaning of "wish" and the internet dictionary does say that verb wish does mean something that likely won't happen or is unattainable. Now what will I do with all these greeting cards that I send out "I wish you a very happy celebration of your anniversary, a wonderful year, a happy birthday, merry Christmas, a happy New Year, etc., etc., is it better to say "I pray you have a happy birthday" and so forth and would my family and friends who are resisting any religious language whatsoever now really just get totally aggravated with the sentiments on the cards? I wish wishing could work sometimes. ////FROM JACK:  Wishes...unattainable?  How about the song, "Wishing Will Make It So?"
Wishing will make it so
just keep on wishing and care will go
Dreamers tell us dreams come true
It's no mistake
Wishing are the dreams we dream when we're awake
The curtain of night will pass
If you are certain within your heart
So if you wish long enough wish strong enough
You will come to know
Wishing will make it so

 FROM MICHIZONA RAY:  My prayer today is that God the Father continues to look with favor upon me, that His Son, Jesus the Christ remains close to me and at my side at every turn, every thought, every feeling, and every experience, and that I am guided by the one hand of the Holy Spirit while being protected by the other. My wish is that all members of the Body of Christ, the Church, prayed the same or a similar kind of prayer, so that the unity of the Body would function in its most glorious manner on Earth right now, as it will at the end of all Time. We already pray "Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven", which suggests to me that God's Will is Heaven, and if this is indeed true, we need only do God's Will here on Earth. We know God's Will through Jesus, His Son, and we were give the Holy Spirit to be with us. It seems like all the ingredients are available anyway... ////FROM JACK:  When I taught confirmation students about "Thy will be done," I used Luther's explanation of that petition..."The good and gracious will of God  is surely done without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may be done also among us."

 FROM JS IN MICHIGAN:  Please say a prayer for my sister, Nancy who is having surgery today.  She broke her wrist and has to have a plate put in.  We are very close.////FROM JACK:  I wish for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery, and I pray for God to look after her and guide the doctors and nurses in her body's healing process.

FROM MEDD-O-LANE:  I would never think a wish is the same as prayer.  As an example, why would I waste a prayer to God for a lotto win?////FROM JACK:  I wonder if any prayer is a "wasted" one, in that we are simply letting God know what's on our mind.  I think of God as the parent who listens patiently to his/her children's "childish" talking.

 FROM SHALOM JAN:  When I was a little girl I liked the song, "Wishing Will Make It So" but, as I matured a bit, I realized that the lyrics referred to wishing as if it were prayer: "Just keep on wishing and God will know."  As in "Just put your coin in the vending machine and you will get what you want."  Eeeeuuu!  However, there are a lot of people who think prayer works like that, or *should* work like that and they are very disappointed when "God failed to deliver".  (Sigh)  Working with people whose "faith" (or lack of it) is based on the wishful thinking of a six-year-old is often very trying.  Thank you for all the years you have done this!////FROM JACK:  I purposely put wishes and prayers together, hoping to elicit a response such as yours.  I think that God "hears" all prayers, spoken or not, theologically correct or not, adult or childish.  I trust that he is able to sort them out in ways that we are not.  Having said that...I, too, have tried to teach the "right" way to pray.  I see nothing wrong with that.

 FROM BLAZING OAKS: I WOULD SAY PRAYER GOES MUCH DEEPER THAN JUST WISHES, WHICH MAY BE SINCERE, BUT ARE MORE SUPERFLUOUS. NICE IF THEY HAPPEN BUT NOT EARTH-SHAKING IF THEY DON'T. I'M WORKING WITH A NEW COMPUTER AND APPARENTLY IT SENT MY REPLY BEFORE I FINISHED REPLYING!!  I WISH IT WOULDN'T DO THAT!!! :-) .////FROM JACK:  I know that there are some people who pray for God to fix the ordinary things, like computers.  Some even swear at the computer, asking God to d... it.  If God smiles, I'm sure that he smiles at some of our prayers.  In the end, prayer is a private conversation.

 FROM CL IN CALIFORNIA:  My prayer is for a world abounding in Gods peace, a world void of evil,guns and war.  a world full of love, concern and willingness to help.////FROM JACK:  I always try to add a p.s....."Thy will be done."

 FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Lots of prayers....not so many wishes.  I ignore those two things all the time.  Maybe I should make a New Year Resolution...not to ignore things that are important.////FROM JACK:  I see nothing wrong with wishes.  I have many wishes for my children and grandchildren.  Sometimes wishes can be turned into prayers, just to let God know what's on our mind.