Priorities and Prayers

Have you ever slipped into the “grass is greener” mindset? You start thinking: “If only my parents would give me the keys to the car.” “If only I was married.” “If only I lived someplace warmer and sunnier!”

We think that if our circumstances changed, we’d be better off. We’d be happier or more successful or something. Sometimes the “grass is greener” mindset shows up in our prayers when we pray for our situation to change.

Let me be clear, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s OK to pray for a positive change. Maybe you have a mean boss, it’s OK to pray that your boss changes for the better. Maybe someone you know is sick, it’s OK to pray for healing.

Instead, compare your prayers with the prayers of someone like the apostle Paul. What do you see? Do you see different priorities permeating those prayers?

In Ephesians 3 we read that Paul is in prison because he’s been preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. If you were Paul, what would you pray for? That God would free you from prison? There’s nothing wrong with that prayer, but that’s not what Paul prays for!

Instead, Paul knows that his Gentile friends are worried about him, so he prays, NOT to be freed from prison, but that God would strengthen their anxious hearts!

And how will God strengthen their hearts? By causing them to know Jesus’s great love for them! Grasping Jesus’s love for you will strengthen your heart when the going gets tough.

So, when you face difficult circumstances, by all means, pray that God would change them. But don’t forget to pray for your heart. More than praying for the situation, pray that God changes your heart to more deeply grasp the love of Christ.