Yet Another Year of Choices
By Barbara Dahlgren
Many times we ask people for advice but we really do not want their input. What we really want is their stamp of approval on what we have already decided to do. Unfortunately, we can approach our spiritual life the same way. Many prayers are not seeking God’s guidance in our lives, but an attempt to talk God into giving us what we want.
The purpose of prayer is not to get what we want. The purpose is to develop a relationship with God. This relationship changes our way of thinking. We no longer look at prayer as a means to change our circumstances as much as it is a way to change ourselves. That’s heavy stuff! Prayer, coupled with Bible study, helps us form a deeper relationship with God. It is an avenue for His thoughts to become our thoughts. Our ultimate goal is to align our will to God’s, not the other way around.
While it is true that God hears all prayers, if the only time we pray is when we are at the end of our rope expecting God to immediately deliver us from our circumstances, we are being unreasonable. Prayer doesn’t change circumstances as much as it changes our way of thinking, so we can cope with our circumstances. Many of us are secretly thinking “let my will be done” when we should be praying “Thy will be done.” (Matthew 6:10) God is not as concerned about granting our every request as He is that through prayer we might come to discern His mind and become ONE with Him. (John 17:21, 22)
Our prayer goal should be to align our will with God’s, not the other way around. Christ realized this when He prayed for “this cup to pass from me” regarding His crucifixion. That would have been His preference. However, ultimately He wanted God’s will to be done. (Matthew 26:39)
We all go through hard times. These experiences will either make us bitter or better. We will either become cynical or nobler, small minded or understanding, selfish or giving, negative or positive, self-centered or God-centered. Prayer is what enables us to be sorrowful yet always rejoicing, financially poor but rich in the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit, having very little but possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:10)
Consider this… Prayer and being close to God is why Habakkuk could say that even though his crops failed and his cattle died, he would still rejoice in the Lord. (Habakkuk 3:17-18) It’s why Job could say that even if God killed him, he would still trust in God. (Job 13:15) It’s why Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego declared they knew God could deliver them, but even if God chose not to deliver them, they still weren’t going to bow down to some golden idol. (Daniel 3:16-18)
Saying prayer changes things is not as close to the truth as prayer changes the way we look at things. We can see the spiritual depth behind physical, mental, and emotional challenges.
When we truly trust God and turn our lives over to Him, we surrender our will to His. We want Him to guide us because we know He has our best interests at heart. Only God knows how we can best glorify Him. We want God’s will to be done in our lives and the lives of those we pray for. After all, we should want what is truly best for them, not what we think is best. That’s why we want to align our will to God’s.
One final thought…
“Don’t give God instructions, just report for duty!” ~Corrie ten Boom
