Praying Differently

God has been working on me in big ways over the last few months- and through prayer is one of those ways.

I’ve been trying to alter my prayers to be more faithful to His plan for my life instead of “rooting” for a specific outcome.  More of my prayers/thoughts have been focused on peace and guidance in decision making than praying for a specific outcome.  I’m trying to see God in every life outcome-whether my preference or not- and trust that He knows more than me.  Obviously, this can be much more easy to see in hindsight than when you are in trenches.  I’m still trying to figure out what all this means… but for now, this a lot of what I’m praying:

God, please give me peace and discernment during ___ in life.  I know you are in control.  Please give me patience as your reveal your plan to me.

I pray for your healing touch over the illness in ___’s life.  Please comfort her family during this time.  Provide peace and healing for her.  I pray she can seek your love too and draw her close to you during this difficult time.

I’m not saying that praying for specifics is wrong or asking for what you really want.  I just am trying to give God more of my trust and learning to rely on Him more in the process.

When I was sharing these thoughts with my husband earlier today, he told me about a Buddhist metaphor:

In this village, a little boy is given a gift of a horse. The villagers all say, “Isn’t that fabulous? Isn’t that wonderful? What a wonderful gift.”

The Zen master says, “We’ll see.”

A couple years later the boy falls off the horse and breaks his leg. The villagers all say, “Isn’t that terrible? The horse is cursed! That’s horrible!”

The Zen master says, “We’ll see.”

A few years later the country goes to war and the government conscripts all the males into the army, but the boy’s leg is so screwed up, he doesn’t have to go. The villagers all say, “Isn’t that fabulous? Isn’t that wonderful?”

The Zen master says, “We’ll see.”

To me, this is a great reminder that we don’t know what is to come so it’s hard to determine what’s really “good” or “bad” in our lives.  So, consider  praying for perseverance, peace and guidance in all decisions instead of a specific outcome.  I pray it helps you build your faith in God and help to trust Him even more.

love, brooke