Prayer: Our Will or God's? (Part II)

Prayer is one of the staples of a life devoted to God. It provides the primary way with which we interact with the supernatural reality of God. Prayer and its importance for the believer cannot be overstated. Yet, the Bible shows us that prayer is more than a needs-oriented or request-oriented relationship with God.

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Jeremiah's Struggle

Jeremiah himself, though seemingly praying a noble prayer for Jerusalem and against its destruction, was told by God to stop praying: "Then the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for the well-being of this people" (Jer. 14:11). 

Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet, was weeping and praying for the preservation of his people. And it seems as if God couldn't or wouldn't act until Jeremiah stopped praying. As in the case of King Hezekiah, God answered his prayer. And in this situation, Jeremiah's prayers were keeping God from bringing judgment upon the city, which shows the power of prayer. But it also reflects that Jeremiah was praying for what wasn't the Lord's will.  

Jeremiah's natural response was to pray for his people; but God had a different plan. After centuries of apostasy and abandonment of God, of committing incredibly sinful and evil acts, God had to remove His people from the land.

Our Struggle

Is it possible that we often use prayer as a means of force, forcing our will upon God and others, not often taking the time to consider what God's will might be for the situation? Is it possible that too often our prayers are focused on ourselves and what we think we need for the situation, and not what God's will might be for the entire situation and others involved? 

The perpetual struggle in life is to let go, and the struggle in prayer is to let go of our will.

Prayer tends to be too individualistic rather than globally concerned, and too momentarily rather than holistically focused. We often become caught up in the here and now, and miss the larger picture of what God is doing in our lives, both in the present and for our future.

The main question seems to be, what is God doing in and through this need, this trauma, or this problem, and how can I pray for rather than get in the way of His will?

Maybe it isn't that we are to pray less, or ask, seek, and knock any less, or that we are not to pray for our needs, but that we are to pray with a different focus in mind; that God's kingdom come, and that His will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.