A Prayer Request

"Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10

"Please pray for me," she pleaded. "I will," I replied sincerely, and I did. While coming in to agreement with her regarding her situation, I couldn't help but explain to the Lord that I could believe for her healing, but I also could not help the overwhelming urge to ask that His will be done in her situation. 

I acknowledge that His will may be different than my own. "Have your way, Lord, but give us the strength and courage we need to go on if your will is not what we had in mind." 

This internal struggle of wanting something that may not be what he wants is a violent battle that I think most of us fight at some point. But we begin to gain ground in the battle when we align our desires with his desires and when we begin to believe and have faith that His ways are far better than our ways. 

I believe He wants us whole. He wants us pain free. He wants us emotionally healed and healthy. And He wants us to ask Him for what we need. Prayer is communication with him. Sometimes the answer is yes while at other times it is no or not now.

I ask myself often if the dreams in my heart are my own, or did God plant them there. And then I remind myself to ask him instead of depending on my own thoughts. And I believe with spiritual maturity comes the understanding that we should want what he wants; therefore, our prayers are always answered in an acceptable manner because we are in agreement with the Lord's will and are on board with His mission. 

I sometimes struggle with prayers that negate consequences. If we play with fire, we are bound to get burned.  I absolutely do NOT believe that God is in heaven waiting to strike us with a lightening bolt when we sin, but I do know that because of sin, consequences follow. Some of our prayer requests stem from our own bad choices. The good news is that God came to redeem and not condemn. He is a fair and just God. He shows grace and mercy. 

God is still in the miracle business. I have witnessed many over my life, and I am expecting to witness many more. 

Prayer is not magic. We don't summon God into our lives and our situations like a genie in a bottle. Prayer is not a time to make demands from the Creator of the universe. Prayer doesn't mean we can pray away any bad thing that could happen, but prayer is about developing a deeper and more fruitful relationship with our Savior.

I always ask myself if I am more concerned with the promise or the want in my life or with the giver of the promise. I once heard a pastor tell the story of how his daughter would come and snuggle in his lap telling him how he was the best dad ever before asking for a toy or money. He said he always equated her wooing him with her wanting something. He explained that he envisioned God feeling that same way. Do we only spend time with him when we want something from Him? Are we always looking to receive from Him? Are we only focused on what we will get out of our relationship with Him? Or do we curl up in His lap just to be close to Him and show Him our love and adoration? 

When I find myself in a situation that could carry a lot of fear and|or doubt, I fall deep into my faith and remind myself that God's ways are truly better. I remind myself that no matter what is to come, he holds tomorrow. When worse case scenarios play through my head, I tell myself that I will be okay. His track record is perfect. He has never let me fall. He has always pulled me in close during the difficult times of my life.

Being in the center of His will at all times is the best place on earth to be.....

Father, thank you for being sovereign. Thank you for reigning over all the earth and for having your way in our lives. Holy Spirit you are welcome in our lives. May we slow down in order to feel your presence near every day. Thank you for having it all figured out so that we don't have to. May our will be changed according to your desires. We know that following you and aligning ourselves with your will is the safest place to be. We love you. In Jesus' name. Amen.