“And my God will meet all your needs [emphasis mine]
according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 4:18-20
I confess I don’t spend much time in petition prayer, which is good and bad.
Good because I actually spend most of my prayer time in “immersion” or in “therapy.” When I am not lost in worship (immersion), I am sharing the muddles and mysteries of my life with God (therapy). Jesus is my shrink.
Good because I trust God to see me through most of life’s pesky situations without appealing for emergency relief. (I hope that shows my faith, not stupid self-reliance.)
Bad because I don’t want to risk the disappointment of putting yet another request into play, only to see it land on God’s back burner, leaving me to wait and wonder.
Bad because I don’t think much about petitioning for the needs of others. Yes, I have a kind of fringe awareness of the desperate circumstances others face, like those in Guatemala after tropical storm Agatha left 152 dead. Maybe I should try “praying the headlines” as an experiment.
Still, I do throw up the occasional petition.
At one extreme, I have been known to make very specific requests, which would seem to limit God’s flexibility. The benefit, for me, is that I can verify the result, like Gideon and the dewy fleece [Judges 6:36-40]. The risk is the same as the benefit; I can verify the absence of results.
At the other extreme, I have been known to make requests that are so vague, so low-risk, that I will never have to deal with consequences. I can say, “God bless Judy Kay” without ever feeling any pressure to check back with her to see if God really did bless her. What does “bless” actually mean anyway?
Between these two extremes, maybe there is a “sweet spot,” as might be found on a tennis racket or baseball bat. This would be the spot where prayer is risky without being pushy, specific without being demanding, assertive but without sacrificing humility.
My son worked for a company in New York City that closed its doors in 2009 due to the economic downturn. Tim survived on unemployment benefits, and then on an extension of unemployment benefits. As his situation became more and more desperate, I prayed more and more urgently for him to find a job that would sustain him and continue his career track. We stuck “Job for Tim” signs all over the house as prayer reminders. If I knew he was going on a job interview, I would name the company and pray he would be hired into the exact job that had been posted by that company.
Maybe a little too specific, huh?
It finally dawned on me that I should offer a more humble request, perhaps closer to that “sweet spot.” I would ask simply for whatever he needed most, right now, at this point in his life, even if that was to remain unemployed. Being a daddy, I had assumed a job was what Tim needed most, but I had to admit I was not clairvoyant. “Father to Father,” I prayed, “You have an only Son. I have an only son. I still believe my son needs a job but I’m taking that request off the table. Instead, I’m asking you for whatever Tim needs most right now. I probably don’t even know what that is, but you do.” A couple of days after I turned this blind corner in faith, Tim landed a job better than I could have imagined.
So … I am learning to ask God for what is most needed, whether for myself or for others. What is the one thing I need most right now? What is the one thing you need most right now? Not an easy question, is it? While I look for my answer, why don’t you look for yours?
Specularity 