Spiritual brussell sprouts

Have you ever wondered if anything you do counts?

Church work. Ministry work. Gestures toward friends. Efforts toward family members. Blog posts. Facebook statuses. Tweets.

Prayer.

Does it matter? Count for anything?

Is any of it effective?

I've struggled with that lately as I've waited for answers to my prayers. Prayers for friends going through trials. Listened to them struggle and ask and grasp for an invisible God who they BELIEVE is there..."but"...

Always a but.

It's hard.

I wondered if my prayers (for myself and for others) were effective. How does intercessory prayer work? What's on the line? How much of it "counts" if the other person is a hardened wall? How much of my effort and time and prayer is effective if the other person's will is stuck? Does anything happen? Is Heaven moved?

Is the heart of God moved?

Too many questions,  not enough answers.

But a wise friend pointed out to me one answer that quieted my soul for a little while, and gave me a Restart.

She essentially said: If we stop thinking of prayer as being effective only when we get what we want, and start thinking of prayer as giving glory to God, then it's always effective. Since the Bible tells us to pray, then prayer is obedience--and obedience always gives God glory.

Giving God glory is effective. It matters. It count.

We just have to get past our own flesh and humanity to realize that some days, that's all we have--and that's ENOUGH.

That truth is sort of like spiritual brussell sprouts. Really good for us, but hard to swallow.

Have you had your greens today?