Some time ago I realized that during my private prayer time and with our ladies group, sometimes I pray like a pagan, like I must persuade God to love my loved ones. As if the spiritual things I desire for them had never occurred to Him. That led me to think of the some of the ways God has already promised to be faithful. Pagan people thought they had to plead and bribe their gods with offerings in order for the seasons to change, crops to grow, prevent calamities, etc. It is a privilege to pray, and Covid limitations have given me more time for it privately, if not with my women warriors. But, there are also many things I don't need to pray about:
- The sun to rise in morning, moon and the stars to appear at night (Gen. 8:22)
- For Spring to follow Winter, Autumn to follow Summer (see above verse)
- For seeds to grow into plants and bear produce (ditto)
- For God not to destroy the world with a flood (back 1 verse, Gen. 8:21)
- For Israel to gain and keep God's favor (Jer. 31:35,36)
- For God to desire the salvation and spiritual growth of my loved ones. (1 Tim. 2:4)
One of the benefits of prayer is that it cements circumstances and requests in my mind so I will recognize and praise God for the answers. But sometimes I find myself praying as if I'm providing new information, like Ananias telling the Lord about Paul's reputation. (Acts 9:13, 14) I would feel like an idiot praying for the sun to come up or the seasons to change or the next three items on the above list, but that last one I struggle with. If God is faithful to those other matters that matter to the world, He will also be faithful to the people who matter to me. I have made some prayer progress, I've stopped giving the Lord of the Universe suggestions about how to answer my prayers. So perhaps I will someday stop my FYI prayers and trying to make God care about the people I do. In other words, I do not need to pray:
- For God to be God
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