When my grandson Benjamin was five years old, we were arm-wrestling on the bed. Benjamin took a short break, crawled to the corner of the bed, and whispered a prayer, “God, give me strength to beat Papa.” When he returned to the tournament, I bowed my head and prayed, “God, give me strength to beat Benjamin.” He went back to his prayer corner and prayed, “God, don’t listen to Papa’s prayer.”
Benjamin always wins our arm-wrestling contests (as well as thumb-wars), so hopefully his faith in God and the efficacy of prayer was affirmed. But the incident did disclose an interesting conundrum. How does God negotiate conflicting prayer requests? For instance, organizers of a Fourth of July parade pray for good weather while local farmers are praying for rain to end the drought.
Abraham Lincoln spoke of this mystery in his second presidential inaugural speech—and also proffered an answer.
On March 6, 1865 (about five weeks before the Civil War ended), Lincoln addressed a divided nation. In his speech he said, “Both (North and South) read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.”
There’s a higher principle at work, and Lincoln expressed it well—the Almighty has his own purposes.
This should not discourage us from praying—after all, the Bible teaches “by prayer and petition, make your requests to God”; but we’re wise to frame our requests knowing that “our God is in heaven, he does what he pleases.”
We wouldn’t want it any other way.
When praying, I avoid prejudicial requests. I don’t pray that UT Austin will beat Oklahoma in their annual football game, though I may pray for the safety of the players. I don’t pray about the weather; it is totally controlled by God. I avoid giving God advice, or telling him what he should do. And, I don’t pray for his aid if it might harm someone else.
Also, my prayers are shorter than they used to be. Ecclesiastes teaches, “Don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.” Sometimes, long public prayers seem unnecessary. (Relative to long public prayers, someone once said, “If your prayer is short, I will pray with you. If it is long, I will pray for you. If it is extremely long, I will pray against you.”) When praying, sincerity and intent matter much more than word count.
Our best option is to embrace the sovereignty of God and keep our prayers simple. I often pray, “God, be God in my life and in the lives of those I love.”
As always, thanks for your thoughts. I just turned 72 and have leaned that one of the ways for me to keep a positive attitude is to accept reality. I have learned to lower my expectations to match the reality of the inevitables. I never did that when I was young, but I am not young anymore. My prayers of 13 years for God to heal my severely disabled grandson have become prayers of “God show me where I am to be in all this and to be your presence in my kids lives” I think for me to keep asking for healing after 13 years frustrates God, and I know it frustrates me. I still believe He could…… but He hasn’t. I have also turned over the running of the Universe to Him as well.
Michael, my heart breaks for you regarding your 13 year old grandson. I’m so sorry. Often, I pray sincerely about something one time, then trust God to fulfill his good will. Thanks for continuing to live life and love God into your 70s’ Don
A great article today! I am a big football fan and yes I pray my team’s players can play their best game. AND no injuries! God bless you Don.
Brian, I like how you pray for football teams. That’s a prayer that God can easily answer. Don
Very good and interesting! Thanks!
1 Thes. 5:17: Pray without ceasing.
Ps. 141:2; Rev. 8:3-4: Prayers of the saints rising as incense before God.
Gen. 1:28: God gave dominion of the earth to man.
Now lets suppose you gave dominion of something to Benjamin. You are going to step back and see what he does; you will actually let him fail. However, if he should ask for your help, that changes everything! He is still “in charge”, but now, since he has elicited your help, you can assist. I seem to be in constant need for Gods help – so, I’m asking. :0)
In Ephesians 6, there is more written about prayer than about any other part of the armor of God. We are admonished to “pray about all things with all kinds of prayers and requests”.
I want my prayers constantly before Him, filling his nostrils as incense; not as ‘vain repetition’, but as communication to my God that calls me a friend. Remember, Jesus called us friends, and said that He was with us always. I talk to Him because He said that he is there.
Daniel, thanks for your thoughts. They remind us of many references to prayer in the Bible. My approach to prayer is probably rooted in my personality: I don’t talk very much, and I don’t see the necessity of repeating myself. Thanks for sharing. Don
Jesus covered it all in the Lord’s Prayer. If it doubt, use it at least as a framework or as us Brits say “as a starter for ten”.
Angela, what a great contribution to this discussion on prayer. Don
Amen. His will be done. Thanks, Don. I hope you are well.
Thanks, Chad, for responding to my post. Mary and I are at a place of great contentment. Don