I admit that sometimes I'm a little confused when it comes to prayer. I don't just pray every night, I talk to God many times throughout the day. Strangely enough, even though I wrote the draft of this blog several days ago, prayer became a topic of discussion in the religion section of the Lawrence Journal World today.
Like many supplicants, I ask for healing, comfort, peace, etc. for those in need with special focus on those for whom I've been asked or especially want to pray. Recently, I've begun to pray that those circumstances be known to the one for whom I pray. Not everyone I pray for is of the same belief that I am, so it more like my asking God to do what is best for them and make it known to them.
One of my favorite parts of the Lord's prayer is "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." Wow! Can you imagine anything better than that? But it does make one wonder why we need to offer a special prayer for healing, etc. Isn't God's will what we should really pray for since we know that He wishes only good for us? And how great would it be if earth were really like Heaven?
A pastor once explained that our special prayers are a way for us to acknowledge that God is in control. It's heartbreaking to pray for healing of a loved one when it doesn't occur. After all, doesn't Matthew 7:7 say "Ask and it will be given to you...?" Matthew 17:20 also tells us "... if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move."
Like so much other misunderstood scripture, we sometimes want to take things verbatim and apply it to all things instead of what was actually attended.
We don't like to be disappointed, and sometimes it's a blessing that we don't get what we ask for. I can then think of no greater prayer that to ask that God's will be done, even when it's contrary to ours.
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