Backwards Praying

This summer, the Lord has really shown me the power of prayer! I have been in a season (for a while) of praying for something very specific in the life of our family – namely Patrick’s calling as a pastor. At the end of the summer, Patrick and I took a walk and he poured his heart out about some things that he had specifically been praying about and wrestling through about God’s calling on His life, God’s missional purpose for our family, and God’s timing. After much talking and listening and praying, God had spoken the same thing to both of us, which was so encouraging!! One night soon after our heart-to-heart about God’s will for our family in this season, I was talking to my mom about everything, and she had been praying about the EXACT SAME THING for Patrick that summer in the EXACT SAME MONTH that he had been wrestling in prayer– God led all three of us to pray for guidance, clarity, and the strength to be obedient about the same exact request, AND He answered it! Can you tell I’m a little excited!? Answered prayer is so encouraging, and seeing others faithfully pray for God’s will is such a sweet blessing.

Anyways, switching to a completely different prayer experience, enter Riley Grace and me at bedtime prayers. Every night, I pray with Riley Grace, and my prayer usually ends with the following phrases: “Father, please help Riley Grace know you at a young age and serve you all the days of her life. Help her to love You, love Jesus, love Your Word, love to pray, and love to tell others about you!” She has started to (kinda) learn this particular part of my prayers for her, and she has decided to include it in the prayers she voices each night, except this is what she’s been saying:

“Dear God, thank you for this WONDERFUL DAY (she’s a little dramatic). I pray for mommy that you know her at a young age and serve HER all the days of her life, and I pray for daddy that you know him at a young age and serve HIM all the days of her life. Goodnight!”

So, her prayers for us are a little backwards. She’s basically asking God to serve US all the days of our lives! ;-) Seems like a cute mistake, but not quite what we’re going for…or are we?

When she started praying this way, I began to think about how many of my prayers over the years (and at present) have actually been extremely self-centered in nature. How many of my prayers are self-focused, asking God to join in and spur along the plans I have for myself? How many of my prayers have not been delighting in God’s will but rather in my own? How many of my prayers are asking God to give me things that I think I need, without any consideration or discernment regarding if these are things that God wants for me? How many of my prayers are not focused on God’s kingdom, but rather on my own kingdom?

Whoa. I was not planning to experience that conviction during my daughter’s sweet (but wrong) prayer! How many of my prayers are “backwards” – praying for my own will to be done rather than the Father’s!?

Before we go any further, let’s take a look at one of my favorite passages. This passage is not explicitly about prayer, but I think it has a lot to teach us about having the right motive and desires in prayer.

Colossians 3:1-4 – “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

The challenge is to “seek the things that are above” when the world around us is bombarding us with many lesser things to chase after. The challenge is for our lives to truly be “hidden with Christ in God” when our fleshly sinful nature wants to once again take the reins. The challenge is for us to truly believe that Christ IS our life when we tend to be blinded by other dreams, goals, people, successes, etc. that promise to give us “life.” When our focus is NOT on Christ, then our prayers will not be centered around His kingdom, but rather our own. And when that happens, we are essentially praying for our own will to prevail, not the Lord’s, and God knows that’s NOT what will bring Him glory!

The second passage I want to focus on is Psalm 37. Verse 4 is a verse you’ll probably recognize. It’s printed on lots of mugs and bookmarks. It’s a very uplifting verse. Read it first, and then go back to read the rest of the passage. This verse has always been my big sister’s favorite verse, and I’ve recently come to appreciate its depth and be challenged by its deeper meaning. However, it’s also an easy verse to misinterpret to your own meaning, so that’s why after reading it, I want you to read the verses surrounding it.

Psalm 37:1-9 - “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! ² For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. ³ Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  ⁴ Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵ Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. ⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. ⁷ Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! ⁸ Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. ⁹ For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.”

This passage is so rich with promises, and it’s easy to hastily look at verse four as a “prosperity Gospel” statement in which God will give you any and all of your heart’s desires. This verse does NOT promise that, and we should be thankful for that because LOTS of our heart’s desires are evil – so God knows that we don’t need all of our desires fulfilled! Reading the surrounding verses in this passages reveals that the most important part of verse 4 is actually the beginning phrase: “Delight yourself in the Lord.” As we learn to delight in God and in everything He encompasses – goodness, love, holiness, righteousness, purity, truth – our desires will begin to match His, thus our prayers will grow to become more kingdom-focused.

Oh, how I want to have prayers that mirror the heart of God! But, if I’m truthful, how often do my prayers fall extremely short because my focus is not at all on delighting in God, but rather on asking Him to “serve me” (as Riley Grace innocently misquoted) in whatever I think my life’s course should take.

APPLICATION

-       READ: Reread the two passages above and take note of what our role is in seeking the things that are above and delighting in the Lord.

-       EVALUATE: Evaluate your prayer life. What things are you praying for, and what is the motive behind those requests – is it selfish or godly? Are you praying for things that will further the Lord’s kingdom or your own? How are you pursing a life that delights in the Lord?

-       APPLY: If you don’t already journal, start journaling your prayers at least once a week. Writing down your prayers may help you to evaluate the tone of your prayers – self-focused or kingdom focused? Find an accountability partner, and commit to pursuing God-centered praying together!

-       PRAY: Ask the Lord to give you the strength to delight in Him even when you’re bombarded with so many distractions, temptations, and fleshly inclinations. Ask Him to focus your mind and heart on Him daily so that your desires will align with His.

Always, Jacquelyn