Positively Pray

There is something to looking at the positive side of life. I consider myself a realist. You know the whole “Is it half full or half empty? Question? I see half a cup of water. Research shows that people who look for the positive side are happier.

The same is true for prayer. If you pray positively, “God, use your power to do something amazing…” instead of, “God, stop anything bad from happening to me,” then you’re looking for God in more incredible ways.

In our passage this week, Israel looked at the situation, and all they saw was their death and the worse side of it:

“Look at the way the passage unfolds: “The children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Then they said to Moses, ‘Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?’ ” (Ex. 14:10–11). They prayed, but they didn’t imagine that God would actually answer their prayer.” –The Red Sea Rules, by Robert J. Morgan (Rule 4)

On the flip side of them, when Jesus knew for a fact he was going to die, he turned to prayer and prayed until he could walk forward without fear, anxiety, or anger. He walked away from his prayer session able to love:

“He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” –Luke 22:44 NLT