To Beg or Not To Beg…

In the last few weeks I must have said the same prayer 45 times a day.

Have you ever had a situation that so burdened your heart that you came to God over and over and over, asking—no begging—for the same thing again and again? I’m guessing you have.  We all have stuff that occasionally happens where we want to see God intercede NOW. And when He doesn’t, we feel the need to remind Him. Beg Him. Plead with Him.

And you know what?  Generally, there’s nothing wrong with this.  In fact, Jesus even told a story to illustrate how we are to keep on praying and not give up.  But last week, smack dab in the middle of one of my prayers, God stopped me.  Not literally, of course, but clearly just the same.

As I was driving down the freeway, talking to God as I often do (thank goodness for Bluetooth, so no one thinks I am crazy!), God halted my monologue and asked me to change the course of my prayers.

“Ask Me to help you trust Me.”

“What, Lord?”

“Ask Me to help you trust Me, no matter what the outcome of your circumstance.”

Now, there was a prayer I hadn’t even considered!  I don’t know why. Perhaps it had to do with my emotional investment in how the circumstance played out.  Maybe it had to do with how tightly I clung to wanting my will and my way. I don’t really know.

What I do know is that my prayers for God to intercede in my circumstances weren’t leading to peace.  In fact, the very opposite occurred; my repetitive begging left me more stressed out than ever, especially when I saw glimpses of the fact that God might, in fact, say “no” to my pleas.

You know what I realize now?  My asking God for the same thing over and over didn’t have its origins in faith, but rather, in fear.  Because of my fear that God might chose to do something I would rather Him not, my prayers were really nothing more than an effort to control Him.

Ouch.

But God is so tender.

So merciful.

So gentle with me, even when my mind and body and emotions are running 90 miles an hour.

So He whispered….

”Just ask Me to help you trust Me”

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

God knows my core issues.  He knows your issues, too.  He knows us better than we know ourselves.  Which means He knows what we really need in our moments of “need”.

And He loves us more than we could imagine.

Is your heart burdened today? Is there something that’s weighing heavily upon your mind and your soul? Do you wish God would change your circumstances and make life trouble free? Effortless? Painless?

I know.

He knows.

Maybe, just maybe, you need God to do for you what He’s doing for me.

Maybe you need Him to help you trust.

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength….

Isaiah 30:15