Prayer IS and ISN’T the Answer to Everything

It’s a typical story: the wife gets diagnosed with cancer, and the husband doesn’t know what to do. He goes to his pastor and asks for guidance. His pastor sits the man down, maybe over coffee or in his office at the church, and says, “The answer is prayer.”

The economy tanks and a teacher loses their job. After searching for months and attempting to substitute teach, she has drained her savings. Before she goes to the local food bank, she calls her mom to ask what she should do now. Her mom replies, “The answer is prayer.”

A man’s wife is seven months pregnant with their first child. They are all set for the baby to come — painted nursery, car seat, clothes, diapers, etc. As the man drives to work late Monday morning after not being able to get the car seat out of his vehicle, he can’t help but feel nervous. He says something to a coworker, and she responds, “The answer is prayer.”

Nothing about those stories was similar, but the answers to those people’s problems were all the same. How can that be? The solution to every math problem is not 3.14, though that would make life a lot easier.

What frustrates me the most is when I come to someone I respect with my problems, and all they can say is…