— JuliAnna, age 4

Dear JuliAnna,

Sometimes people say that prayer is talking to God. Just like you, they are disappointed when they do not hear God answer.

But prayer is simply asking God for things. We ask God because Jesus said we could. Asking God means that we simply leave the answer up to God. That way we do not have to wait to hear from God.

Here is another thing. All of the good things God gives us come from other people and things. So when it comes to prayer, God speaks to us through other people.

For example, when we ask God, “Do you love me?” our Sunday school teacher or pastor may tell us, “God loves you.” When we are afraid of something, our parent or a friend may hold us tight and keep us safe. So God uses other people to answer our prayers.

Even when we think of prayer as simply asking God, we may still be sad or disappointed when God does not give us what we want. Then we must ask God for patience so we can wait. And we can remember that God raised Jesus from the dead and promised never to leave us alone.

Tim Wengert