Some one once said to me that my faith in Jesus Christ, and my prayers were nothing but a crutch. My reply to him was:
My belief in Jesus Christ is based on historical fact. My prayer life is by no means a crutch – but is an outworking of the invitation God gives us to relate to him. Far be it that my prayers be a crutch – rather instead, my prayers are based on an invitation from God: to come to him, and invite him to involve himself in every aspect of my life, and the lives of those I am praying for.
Not only are my prayers an invitation; they are based on hope and trust. For God takes my hopelessness from me and replaces it with hope. Hope does not disappoint me, for it leads to trusting faith, with the assurance that God has heard my prayers, has heard my groans and my sighs of life, has heard my thanksgivings and praise… which builds in me the assurance that he is for me; and not against me.
This frees me from the loneliness of the world. It frees me from its worry, its anxieties, its stresses, it’s strains…and so far from being a crutch…. it is true freedom
