I’ve been digesting a book about prayer. I’m sure you all guessed that by some of the topics on my blog posts. : ) It’s a book my friend recommended (he also happens to be the author) called “If With All Your Heart” by Richard O’Ffill.
The point I read recently has caused me to think a lot. The word prayer is derived from the Latin word precarius: obtained by entreaty. And we still use the word precarious today when things are uncertain, unstable, insecure, dependent on circumstances beyond ones control, dependent on the will or pleasure of another, or liable to be withdrawn or lost at the will of another.
When is prayer precarious? When you are asking for something, prayer is precarious! Because when you ask God for something you are allowing Him to choose His response. The control has been turned over to Him. You are subjecting yourself to His decision.
When Jesus specifically asked God in Gethsemane, “If it be possible, please take this cup from me.” He also added, “Nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done.” He didn’t try to take the control; He was dependent on the Father’s will/choice.
The opposite of such prayer/asking is demanding. When you tell someone to do something for you, you offer them no option, no free choices. You take the position of authority and leave them subject to your demands.
I’ve been thinking about my prayer requests. How many of them are actually prayers? How often have I “asked” God to help me do this or that, and spelled it all out to the Nth degree, to the point where it was no longer a request but a demand?
Asking is tough stuff! It is so difficult for me to turn over the control of even simple things to someone else. I don’t ask people for things very often. Probably my parents are the ones I ask the most. I trust them the most; I know they won’t hurt me when I turn over the control to them. I accept them as having authority over me. But even with my parents, I think I usually ask for things I know they will readily agree to do my way.
How do I treat God? I don’t ask Him for very much either! I mean, I ask Him for things I know He readily agrees with and will do my way. But when it gets to things that are really precarious - things that could go either way, things that I WANT to go my way, things that I am tenaciously trying to have control over... then I start off praying and end up demanding!
Getting very personal, I have been thinking about one of my most repeated prayers lately - “Heavenly Father, am I ever going to get married?” I realize now that I have been quite demanding. I can only think of ONE time, when I actually asked God for a husband without my pork attached to the bill. All the other times I have had particular people in mind, or outlined my way and timing, and turned my request into a drive-thru order for God to fill!
Of course it is not wrong to talk to God about specifics, or even ask for things in detail. But when my asking becomes demanding, my relationship with God is changed. If I know Him, love Him, and accept Him as having authority in my life (my Creator), will I demand Him to do this or that? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to ask God for His choice of husband for me? Do I have cause to fear that it will be someone I do not like?
Handing over the control to God is a precarious thing - it’s putting our life in His hands. It is really asking for something, rather than putting in an order. It is about a relationship with God that allows Him the freedom to do His good will in our lives. It is a way to show God that we know Him as trustworthy and love to be at His mercy, in His care, in His arms...
There is a story in the Bible that illustrates this type of asking. Imagine you are Ruth as you read about her precarious request in the book of Ruth (especially 3:1-9). How scary would that have been?! Things certainly could have gone either way! How demanding was her request? How much greater was the response than she expected? How is Jesus like Boaz the “redeemer kinsmen”?
