From time to time, I am asked to pray for specific things for specific people. Now, I am a believer in speaking with God about my concerns (praying), and am certainly a believer in answered prayers - there have been a number of those in my life! However, I remain somewhat befuddled about the proper attitude in prayer, and what should comprise my prayers.
A couple of years ago, Sue and I were making a final trip from California to Tennessee - we were finally retired, and moving to our permanent home. We had disposed of most of our California possessions in California, and had rented a trailer for the few things we were bringing with us to Tennessee. We drove along, having a grand time visiting with each other, talking about how we were going to enjoy our retirement. (I had ensured the truck had been serviced well - tires, oil, filters, brakes, and had even installed new windshield wipers - there was not a lot of opportunity to use them in California, and they had gotten pretty old and dry.) Somewhere about Oklahoma, one of my new windshield wipers broke. I stopped and picked up a new one, and installed it right there in the parking lot. We made it to Little Rock that night, and got up very early the next morning in hopes of making it home that night. (BTW, if you have ever been on I-40 between Little Rock and Memphis, you know how desolate it can be - dark and narrow are two adjectives that come to mind. At any rate, we left the hotel about 5:30AM, headed to Memphis, retirement, and points beyond. It was dark-thirty, cool, and raining. About 30 minutes out - on that dark, desolate highway - my windshield wiper broke. I got off the road as quickly as I could, and swapped the wiper from the passenger's side to the driver's side so that I could see! Back on the road - now the ONE windshield wiper I had broke!!! Still dark. Still raining. So, I got off the road as quickly as I could, opened up the trailer door, found my tool bag and my trusty duct tape, and bandaged the last broken wiper. Back on the road. A little bit down the road was a truck stop, and I was sure they would have wipers, so we pulled off the road. The front parking lot was very full, so I pulled around the back in hopes of getting under some shelter. Just as I turned the corner, I hit a pot hole that you could have lost a large dog in, and the trailer came up off the hitch, pulling the ball with it. The nut on the bottom of the ball had fallen off somewhere along the road! If this trailer had come off on the road, I'm not sure I would be sitting here today.
Now, you ask, what does all this have to do with prayer and my question?
Well, glad you asked. Here are my thoughts. I could have prayed for God to stop my windshield wipers from breaking, and I might have gotten the answer I was looking for. But, if I had gotten the answer I was looking for - and I know "if" is a big word - I may not be sitting here today. I believe God was trying to get my attention, trying to get me off the highway so that He could provide protection. Frankly, I had been rather lazy in ensuring my connection to my trailer was in good shape; He was taking care of me.
Bottom line?
I do believe that, at times, it is appropriate to specifically pray for specific things, and even to "intercede" for others in specific ways. However .....
I am convinced our prayers should center more about being in the proper relationship with God, about our "attitude" with Him, and about recognizing His perfect will. It might be kind of a strange thought, but I'm pretty sure He knows more about me and whats good for me than I do. I need the discernment to understand His desires for me, and the wisdom to carry those desires out.
'Nuff said.
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