On Prayer
Christ said that he did not work on His own: He could do nothing but what He saw the Father doing. This principle applies to prayer. Prayer is not a sort of magic that shapes God's responses, prompting Him to do something He would otherwise not have done. It is rather a participating in what He wills to be done. Suppose a mother baking a cake. She knows the recipe, she knows precisely what the cake will be like when she is done. Her little daughter comes who very much wants the cake and asks if she can help make it. Her mother, pleased with the girl's desire, agrees.The mother lets her daughter add some flour, then some sugar, then shows her how to beat some eggs. Now her daughter has an idea. She's been playing in her sandbox; she loves the sand. Wouldn't some sand in the cake make it better? She begs her mother to let her add some sand, which the mother kindly refuses. But the daughter insists; she knows better than her mother what will make a fine