I'm currently participating in a women's Bible study on God’s ability to meet our needs and answer our prayers. As we've studied this, I've realized that I generally don’t doubt His theoretical ability, but I’m often
skeptical that my wishes are part of His big cosmic plan. I worry that they’re too petty and too
selfish and too demanding, and that He’s going to brush them aside because He’s
got the big picture to think about and my requests just don’t fit with that. I'm afraid that this often keeps me from praying at all, because I feel like it's pointless to bother since I don't understand God's plan and so can't know if my prayers will be something He wants to act on. As I was fretting about this today, God instructed my mind with several truths.
First of all,
do I really think He’s that careless about me?
Do I think He wants to ignore my heart’s cry? No, He is loving
and good. He is aware of me (Psalm 139). He created me, and He cares for
me. “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter
5:7).
Second, is the
big picture so irrelevant to me? I am part of God’s plan, and He ‘works for the
good of those who love Him’ (Rom.
8:28). Therefore, I can be confident that even if He says no to me in favor of His bigger plan, He is
taking care of me regardless and will bring me good in the end. Yes, it may call for trials and difficulties,
but He will still care for me and bring me through them.
Finally, while
the things I want may not be part of His plan, faith is definitely
part of the plan. He still wants me to come to Him and trust Him with the
details of my life. It is better to come, present my requests and concerns to Him (Phil
4:6), and wait for His answer, rather than hide my desires from Him (impossible anyway)
assuming they don’t meet His standards. He knows me, He knows I’m imperfect, He knows
I will make imperfect requests. I have
nothing I can hide from Him, but my reticence and withholding of communication is not what pleases Him.
How can I be
confident that I’m praying according to His will? By praying according to the
Word. I used to think this just meant
quoting Scripture within a prayer, which seemed like it could easily become glib and
meaningless--a way to sound 'holy' and impressive to other people without really thinking through the prayer. I realized today that this could instead mean taking a general promise
in Scripture, imagining how it could be applied to a specific situation, and
praying for God to make Scripture happen in that circumstance. For example, 2 Timothy 1:7 says that “God did not give us a
spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self discipline.” I’ve heard that verse so many times and know
that theoretically it’s relevant to me, but have never acknowledged it as a
promise that I can claim in my life. So
this morning I prayed that God would take away my spirit of timidity (He knows I have
one!) and today replace it with His Spirit of power, love, and
self-discipline. I am confident that this prayer, as far as my understanding
goes, is in line with what God wants for me. He did not give me this spirit of fear, and it
does not please Him, nor does it glorify Him before others. I’ve come to Him
and told Him I don’t know how to get rid of this spirit of fear myself, and I
need His help. As I pray I am aware that
He has already promised this Spirit of power, and now I need to believe that
this power is in me and available to me—and then act accordingly! I am looking forward to seeing how He makes
this spirit evident in me today.
