Friday, October 1, 2010

... Of Praying for the Little Things

I remember every Christmas morning as if it were yesterday. Not the presents. Just the excitement. My brother and I never slept later than 7am, butterflies in our stomachs as we stared wide-eyed at the gifts concealed by colorful wrapping paper. Our parents were always good sports when we stormed into their bedroom to tell them that Santa had come. As mom made her first cup of coffee for the day, my brother and I sat in front of the tree and waited what seemed an eternity.

The novelty of each present lasted a couple of months. Then, they became fodder for the thrift store and we were counting down the days again until Christmas.

I have discovered that my prayer life can be a lot like Christmas mornings. All the mind blowing exciting prayers that are answered cause an immense passion in me. Spiritual highs. But they only last for a short time. I find myself soon sitting and waiting for the next one to come.

It is rare that I pray for small things. It seems like God is too busy to deal with them and I don't want to bother Him. Why pray for energy to make it through a day after a not-so-great night's sleep? After all, He has to deal with cancer, floods and helping every student in the world pass their next math test. It is almost as if I think He will "run out" by the time he gets around to my measly little prayers.

What if the point isn't about having energy for the day ahead? What if the point is for me to just trust God with every aspect of my life?

What if He is trying to get me away from the "Christmas morning" prayers and build a relationship that can last through every struggle?

I have been challenged lately. Spiritually challenged. Wondering "why?" And I am finally starting to find peace (months later) in knowing that He has taken care of me up to this point. I do not need the miracles. I just need daily reassurance that He is here. And He is. There are still many unknowns right now. The peace that has come recently is not because God has revealed the answers to me.

In fact, my prayers are rarely answered in my time and more often that not, the answers are not the ones I desired to begin with
but I like to look at the bright side ... the end result is always far better than what I would have planned for myself. Each of the little prayers help me trust Him a little more. They take me from just believing in Him to actually believing Him.


WEIGH IN
How are you at praying for the little things?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
If we cannot trust God with the little things, how will we ever trust Him for the big ones?


1 comment:

  1. This was very well written and thoughtful! I loved it! And now I'm praying for EVERYTHING! :)

    ReplyDelete