Several years ago, a Big Sandy Convalescent Home patient attended church. She came into the church and sat in the back pew. When it came time to share prayer concerns, she raised her hand and said, "Please pray my husband dies quickly so I can marry Steve!" The person responsible for prayer briefly paused and said, "I'll pray for the Lord's will in this manner."
As ridiculous as her request sounds, I don't think it's so far from the rest of our prayers. We pray for our concerns. We are told to pray for our problems. He wants us to talk to Him. We pray for what we want. It’s difficult for us to pray for God’s will.
You've heard it too. "God doesn't answer my prayers." It's because what we prayed for didn't come true. It's hard to think that something we've prayed for, all though it sounds like the perfect will of God, isn't. And our time is not God's.
Life is difficult. How we approach our difficulties depends on where we put our hopes. If we believe we are the god of our world, we will forever be disappointed because we can't control how our life ends. The only thing we can control is how we think, believe, and react to the difficulties we face. We need to give ourselves grace and forgiveness. We need to give others grace and forgiveness.
People fail. We all fail. And we will continue to do so. I've been told that I often mention Jesus too often, but nothing makes sense to me without surrendering to Him. What does he want for me? What does he want for you? God wants us to know love. He wants us to experience Him. He wants us to experience happiness, which isn't found in what we want. It is found in knowing Him. It's found in real truthful experiences.
I will say that saying we're Christians isn't the same as being one. I've been studying Acts lately. Is my prayer life like hers, asking for ridiculous requests, or do I yearn to be filled with his spirit, living his will? Will I remain His during the next round of gossip? Do I fall into depression or confusion? Will I say I am His?
