"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:23-24

It's the first day of 2011 and a good time for me to experience new hope in prayer. For quite a while I've been struggling with my faith in prayer. My dilemma is this: How do I pray in believing faith as Jesus told us to do, when the answer depends on someone else's free will? All power is God's, and for some divine purpose, He has given humans, His creation, the power to choose their direction in life. For some reason known only to God, He has chosen to "limit" His power when it comes to our free will. Perhaps it matters so much because He wants our obedience to His perfection to be freely given from a true heart. Often the choosing leads to disaster, exemplified in Eden when the world was new and countless times since by every human who has ever lived, though sometimes the choice brings about glorious results for each and all.

So how do I take Jesus at His word and pray believing that what I pray for will happen, when the one I may be praying for is of a different mind entirely?

Though I've often witnessed the refusal of people (myself included) to submit to His good purpose and suffer for it, I've just this week been allowed the priviledge of watching God move in some way I may never know, to bring about the yielding of someone else's free will to His. How does He do that? Why doesn't He do that all the time? How can He accomplish anything of His plan in eternity by depending on such stubborn, short-sighted, and selfish creatures as we? Is that why He is God?

So some of my conclusions to this seeming enigma are these: The action of my praying changes things. My prayer may not be answered according to my will or even God's will if the free-willed person resists God's influence, but the ultimate outcome will be changed because I have prayed. God will bring good in some way for some one. And, as a side note, God's activity in this situation for which I'm praying may not necessariy bring me relief and comfort - that may depend on me and what peace I choose to find through faith. The focus of God's activity is on the person I've prayed for, which may remain unseen for a long time. That's also the part that faith must play.

I've been praying, thinking about, and learning about prayer very intentionally for the past 25 years and have recently been stalled with doubt about how much it really matters. I'm hopeful that 2011 will mark new horizons of faith in prayer, knowing that there is always something beyond the horizon that I may yet be unable to see.

It's Christmas time, and while I somewhat dread the thought of what gifts to buy for whom, there is nothing like choosing, wrapping, and giving a gift you know someone will love. Even the anticipation of waiting for the opening at Christmas adds enjoyment to the giving. Then the moment when the gift is placed in their hands, still wrapped, concealed, unknown - you know they're going to love it! The smiles of wondering as paper is torn, the surprise of recognition, the delight and even tears of gratitude. Then come the explanations of how the idea came to you, how long it took to find it, why you knew it would be perfect, how it expresses your love. It's as if you've just received a gift yourself with the giving. After all, "It's more blessed to give . . ."

But have you ever given a gift with the same preparation and expectation of appreciation, but was disappointed that your gift wasn't understood or recognized as uniquely chosen, or perhaps even how much it cost you? Has the moment of revelation when the treasure is opened brought disregard or even rejection?

So I wonder, sitting by the tree with my family on Christmas morning, is this anything like the giving by God of His Son? He knew the perfect gift, chose it, kept it hidden with anticipation for so long, waiting for the moment of giving with more love than is possible from a human heart. He knew how necessary but extravagant this gift would be - essential really. He had planned it for so long, waiting for the day when the veil would be torn open, the surprise of recognition, the delight and tears of gratitude. Then came the explanations of reminders from the prophets, how long He'd been planning for this day, why it's perfect and how it expresses His love.

But what of His unbearable pain when the receivers of the gift don't understand or recognize how uniquely chosen His gift is, or how much it cost Him, and disregard or even reject it? And is it possible that for many, this most Precious Gift remains still unopened, ignored because of too many other things to play with or activities to pursue, or maybe because no one has ever placed it in their hands and told them it was theirs to open?

How do we even know about giving gifts? How do we even understand the joy that gift-giving brings? It's because of Him. He gave first - everything in the world, and then more.

My lesson to put into practice this Christmas as I unwrap each gift: truly see the gift, understand what it meant to the giver, and express my gratitude. With some gifts it will be easy; with others I may need to look deeper to find their value. Even Mary didn't fully understand this gift she'd assisted in presenting to the world. It took years of treasuring these unfolding events in her heart - layers of unwrapping.

And I must remember that the exchange doesn't end with the opening of the gift. It's returned in gratitude to the giver, and beyond as the gift is used, worn, displayed, treasured. And the greatest expression of a gift received is when it actually changes a life.