ARE YOU CONFUSED ABOUT HOW TO PRAY?

Romans 8:26

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

 

We have a close family friend who once again has cancer threatening her young life. For years Renee has been cancer-free. She fought bravely (chemotherapy, etc.), and seemed to have won the battle; but only temporarily. This time the doctor's do not believe it is "treatable" and barring a miracle, will soon prove fatal. We know our God is in the miracle business; so out of love we continue undeterred in our prayers for her recovery.

A few days ago my daughter Krissy came to me (Renee is one of her dearest friends), and asked if praying for her life to be extended was the right thing to do. Are we being selfish? In tears she grieved over the pain Renee has endured for years. She asked: "Is it God's will for Renee to live?" I answered: "I don't know. No one does." She asked: "Then how should we pray?" I responded by quoting today's passage: "The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."

When I don't know what to pray for, which is most of the time (if not all of the time), in my spirit I pray: "Lord, Your will be done." We need to remember: although our prayers are to be directed toward God, we are not to be directing of God. This is a very important distinction. Many people misunderstand how to pray. Therefore they pray with impudence: "Okay God, here's the situation. Let me explain it to you, and this is what you need to do to fix it." How many times have you been grateful God did not answer your prayer? Sometimes what we think we want proves all too often to be detrimental, harmful, distracting, or even a curse. And just the opposite is also true. I have often been surprised at how awful something seemed at the time, turned out to be an incredible blessing.

Prayer is not about getting my will done in heaven, but getting the Father's will done on earth. In other words, aligning ourselves with God's will. So I don't give directions to God, instead I pray: "I hold up this need to you. I place this situation in your hands. I open the door for you to work through me. Direct me according to your will."

 

James 4:2 is often misused: "You do not have, because you do not ask God." On the surface this might imply all we ever need to do is ask God, and like a genie in a bottle, He will magically gives us our hearts' desires; our problems disappear. However, if we look at the context of this verse (James 4:1-3), we gain an entirely different perspective: "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." In other words, we don't know what to ask for, how to ask, or even have the right reasons for asking. It's no wonder our prayers aren't answered exactly the way we petitioned. The next time, before you pray, ask yourself: "Do I trust God?" If the answer is yes, then with confidence let's place our problem in His hands alone. We can pray: "Lord, here's the situation. I'm not directing you; I'm just giving this over to You." Then we know whatever happens, we've done our part; we've opened the door and we can now rest in His provision. Our Father always knows best! Amen.

POCKETPOWER.ORG