Psalm 84:2
My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
I don’t know what you’re praying for, but I know what you should be praying for.
Usually we can categorize our prayers into predictable little compartments labeled, things, stuff, people, results, etc. We pray with an end in mind, usually one of our own desire and creation.
This is not wrong, Jesus did tell us to pray for our “daily bread”, but these request might be out of order.
Let me explain, I saved my marriage a few months ago… it was a brilliant move. As a guy who desires to one day have a man cave, I have been in training and preparation for years. Slowly I have been amassing the right components.
A stereo receiver with 7.1 surround sound capabilities even though I only have 5.1
speakers.. don’t scoff, I am preparing. A 1000 hour HD DVR with internet
capabilities… ok, so it’s just what you get with cable, but I’m getting ready. A TV that’s far too small and the constant drumming of the theme “we need a bigger TV” anytime we go near an electronics department… someday my diabolical plan will come together… (imagine a sinister laugh here).
As I have added these components over the years, my wife has – on a multiplicity of occasions – expressed, I think frustration is the word, over not being able to even turn the TV on.
You see it takes a bit of thought and energy to get the right component on at the right time set to the right input. I mean, nothing good ever came easy, right guys?
So, a few months ago I got one of those remotes that, with some dedicated set up, will turn everything on in the right order for whatever function you are desiring: TV, movies, games, NETFLIX.
Yep, saved my marriage.
While every component is important, the order of operation is paramount!
I was reminded of this in my Grow Group Bible Study and prayer time last night. We were praying for some ministries of the church and some outreach needs in our city, when one of our senior saints reminded us that we needed to pray that God would give us a burden for the work.
It’s so true, we pray for results, but what we need to pray for is a heart!
We want God to move in our circumstance, but God wants to start by moving in us!
We want churches filled with people, but God wants people of the church consumed with love for the outcast, compassion for the less fortunate and passion for those far from Christ.
If we had the right heart, His heart, then the results are automatic! We wouldn’t need more volunteers, or money, or excitement… it would already be pouring out of us because we finally got what we really needed… a heart transplant.
May we truly come to a place where our soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord, and may we be marked with heart and flesh that sing for joy to the living God!
I don’t know what you’re praying for, but I know what you should be praying for… a burden, a passion, a desire to become more like Jesus and to want what He wants.
Get your prayers in the right order… the rest will take care of itself.