How many times have you done it? You've probably done it today. I will admit I've done it too many times to count - prayed for something I wanted but didn't need.
We pray for numerous reasons: for the lost; for the sick; for our leaders; and for our nation. But we also pray selfishly. We ask for money to spend on possessions we don't need. We pray for relationships to work out when they are not what God intended for us. We pray for love to find us when God is offering His love to us the entire time. We pray for doors that have long been closed to re-open, never realizing God has opened another door to something better than we had. In all these prayers, do we ever just simply ask for God's will for our lives without asking anything else? Do we trust Him enough to give us what is truly best for our lives? We, in our human arrogance, think we know the solutions to all our problems and discontentment if God would just give us what we ask immediately - wealth, power, possessions, or love.
It's true Jesus said “all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). However, when He taught His disciples to pray, He told them “your Father knows the thing you have need of before you ask Him” (Matt 6:8). He said 'need'; not want. Read the Lord's prayer in Matt 6:9. Not once did Jesus teach His disciples to ask for material possessions. He taught them that God's will prevails over heaven and earth. He taught them to only ask for their 'daily bread' and to forgive. Why should we think we are superior to the disciples and ask for anything more?
When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, He could have ordered God to deliver Him, but He didn't. Why? Because He trusted so deeply, that He only wanted His Father's will to be done and nothing else. When we finally come to the acceptance that God has plans for us and those plans are what is best for our lives, we can learn to pray without any selfish wants. We will only ask for His will to be done in our lives and in whatever situation we find ourselves. It is then we will finally understand that “all things are possible to him who believes”. We just have to ask Him the right question.
So … what will you pray for this week?