Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Day 16
This
happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
John
9:3
Pray.
Pray
Hard.
Pray
Through.
But don't pray away.
How many times did the blind man in
John 9 pray for healing? How many times
did his parents beg God to give their little boy his eyesight? I wonder how many prayers went
unanswered. Or did they? Ultimately, the
man born blind was healed but not until it would yield the greatest glory.
Let's be honest, 90% of our prayers
revolve around personal comfort, not God's glory. Too often we try to pray away every
problem. But what if that is the very
thing that God wants to leverage for his glory?
Let's not be too quick to pray away the pain, the suffering, the
situation, the problem. Let's not just
pray "get me out" prayers. We
sometimes need to pray "get me through" prayers.
We need a paradigm-shift in our
prayer lives. It's not about us. It's
all about God. And when you begin to
pray for God's glory above and beyond everything else it's a game changer! You no longer pray away every problem. You pray through the problem. You know that God might do a miracle, but
that isn't the goal. The goal is God's glory.
And if suffering with grace yields more glory to God then so be it.
Remember when Paul prayed that God
would take away his thorn in the flesh?
God didn't answer that prayer the way Paul wanted. Why? I'm not entirely sure. Maybe it forced a greater dependence upon God
which yielded more glory for God. Maybe
it kept him humble. But God has reasons
that are way beyond our reason! I've prayed that God would heal me of asthma so
many times I've lost count, but God hasn't chosen to answer that particular
prayer. I'm still asking, but in the
meantime I'm trusting that Father knows best.
Too often we're so anxious to
"get out" of difficult situations that we never "get anything
out" of those difficult situations.
We don't learn the lessons God is teaching or cultivate the character
God is developing. Sometimes prayer is
meant to change external circumstances and bring deliverance. Sometimes prayer is meant to change us
internally and help us walk through those situations with His grace, His power. It takes discernment to know what God wills,
but let's not try to pray away the very thing God wants to leverage to put His
glory on display!
Mark
Batterson-Circle Maker
