With all that going on I found myself, actually caught myself, asking God for rather trivial things. Things like, "Lord help us have a good day today." Or, "Lord, let us have good weather for my fishing trip." There perhaps countless prayers such as these that we pray daily which are mostly about our own selfishness.
This caused me to ponder..."Do I have the right to pray these things when there are so many greater needs in the world." In other words, I feel some guilt for asking God to bless my corn patch when there are mother's going hungry and sleepless on the other side of the globe, worried sick about their children trapped beneath tons of masonry and steel. My wants are so small compared to the big needs around the world.
So, I looked into the Word for some help. James 4:1-3 states, "What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn't it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong - you want only what will give you pleasure."
The whole idea of motive comes to mind here. James is writing specifically about our selfish, greedy humanity which is the lust that corrupts all things and ultimately leads to war. I have to constantly check myself, so that the focus of my prayer is not on my own selfishness.
Now for the balance. As children of God we are to make our requests and petitions known. God's Word said, in Psalm 37:4, "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desires." I think of other texts which invite us to "Ask and we shall receive...", or "If two of you shall agree...you shall have it." etc. Well, many consider this an open invite to start asking for a new BMW or a six-figure income, or a new this or that. I have found when I do the first part of Psalm 37:4 (delight myself in the Lord), my selfish appetites disappear. I believe our selfish prayers are mostly asked amiss. (a KJV word)
At the same time, we should never be afraid to make our most simple requests known to God. He loves us and wants to bless our lives, even with the things we 'want' rather than 'needing'. As for me, I am certain God knows my personal want list. My best option is to pray God's prayer requests (Mt 9:38, John 17), and then at the appropriate time, God will bless me with the things I need as well as with the blessings that I am capable of handling. Since God is the God of the whole world, (Did you know God is not Democrat or Republican, He is not Asian nor American...He is God) I personally think I should be praying for those suffering in China, than to be concerned with my fishing weather. If I do my part for others, God always does His part for me.
Whether or not we get the BMW is immaterial. God has promised to provide all our needs, according to His riches. I'm trying to balance the big with the little. Hope this makes sense to ya.
Food for thought!
Pastor T
