Are my prayers broken?
When I pray, I find myself often asking God to make things go how I want them to. When I hear others pray, it seems like they’re doing the same thing too – so I guess somewhere along the way we must have all picked up that that’s how we pray.
But is it how we’re supposed to pray?
Because lately, it’s started to feel like I’m a kid begging for changes because I don’t like what’s going on. Please make Covid go away, help happen, let me get this thing I want…I’m praying to Him but I’m heavily focused on me.
It makes sense, I suppose, when you look at human nature that prayer would also fall into this me-centric way of thinking. We’re hard wired back to fight or flight to look out for ourselves and survive. I wonder if it’s possible those instincts still have more daily control over us than we realize and have now made their way into prayer.
Instead of asking God to make things go our way, shouldn’t we be asking him to help us be who He wants us to be in a situation? Even if we don’t like it, if He put us in it there must be a reason behind it. Maybe it’s an opportunity for growth, there’s a lesson to learn, or we’re playing a role in someone else’s lesson.
Instead of asking God to improve every situation for us, maybe we should be asking God to improve us for every situation.
This one has me really thinking about how I’m approaching my day and situations. It’s got me rethinking how I approach God. He isn’t a genie meant to bend the world to my liking – not at all. Somewhere, I seem to have borderline confused him as such.
I’d really like to hear your thoughts and feedback on this. Anyone know of any books or podcasts about this? I could be way off base, but I feel like there is a lot of peace we’re denying ourselves here.
More than a year ago I decided to pray every night before school for my grandkids. Then other women asked to add their grandkids to my prayers. Then I just added the church kids I was missing. Each night I take a few minutes to pray for their safety and health, for their peace of mind in this crazy time, and for their masks to be clean and protective. I ask that their adults protect them, and make good decisions.
Generally, I ask for God’s presence in my life and in my decisions. I always pray for God to hold my plane in the air before it leaves ground and to give all aboard safety. And, oh dear heaven, I prayed and cried for her peace as she died.
I don’t ask God for miracles. My theology points toward God’s grace in making our free will decisions. We cannot control others through prayer, only our own response to the daily things we confront. May we all find peace, and work hard for the things we believe in.
[…] I did not ask him to prove I was right or to open their eyes to how wrong they were. I asked God to change me. I prayed three simple prayers: I wanted the wisdom and grace to talk to them without hurt […]