If you're anything like me your prayers sound something like this, "Father, thank you for today. I ask that you will bless our school day and let it go smoothly without any fights. Give Mike a good day at work and give him safety as he travels. Help me to find a great parking space at Kroger later today. And please don't let me run into ______ who just annoys me to no end!"
Those aren't bad prayers. I'm asking for good things - right? But, are they the BEST things?! See, I'm asking for my life to be smooth with no potholes in it. I want to skate through this world without getting my knees skinned or my shins bruised.
Lysa says, "We want the promises, but we don't want to get any dirt under our fingernails in the process. We want comfortable circumstances, but we resist any transformational changes that might be necessary. Oh, how we want the gifts promised here, but I wonder if the real treasure is to get to the place where we want the Giver most of all."(201)
A better prayer would be something like, "Father, thank you for what you're going to do in and through our family today. Give me patience during school time if the kids are fighting or whining. Give me diligence to do the work you've called me to today. Help Mike to solve the problems he encounters and bring him home to us tonight, if it's your will. I ask that you will allow me to be a blessing to someone at Kroger."
See the difference? In the 1st prayer I'm asking for stuff FROM God. In the 2nd I'm asking for more OF God. Nancy Guthrie explains it this way, "Asking, seeking, and knocking aren't secret formulas for getting what we want FROM God; they're ways to get more OF God. As I listen to God speak to me through his Word, he gives me more of himself in fuller, newer ways. Then, if healing doesn't come, if the relationship remains broken, or if the pressures increase, I have the opportunity to discover for myself he is enough. His presence is enough. His purpose is enough."
If there's nothing else you get from this post, get this. GOD IS ENOUGH!!! If the school day doesn't go smoothly, if we're in a car accident, if we get a cancer diagnosis, if we have to walk 10 extra feet at the grocery store, if_____ (fill in the blank with what makes life "perfect") - He is STILL enough! HE is what we're to seek, not perfect/bruise-free lives.
DISCUSS: What area of your life are you asking for God to make "dirt-free"?