Some prayers are just dangerous. Jesus said that anything that we ask for in His name will be given to us. I believe this. I hope in this. I wonder why when I pray for somethings they don't seem to actually come true. But then I have to realize that what I see may not necessarily be the truth. I mean, I may pray for something and get a different answer than I was looking for.
Tonight I wrote this prayer on my twitter
"Praying for patience to be still. Boldness to speak. Empathy to listen. Unrest to act. Strength to move. Confidence and love to keep going."
Writing it sounds so cute. It sounds lovely and sweet. I can wrap it up in a little Tiffany blue box and tie a big white bow around it. But the implications of this prayer are actually huge. If I really mean this. If it's not just something I'm writing for the 140 characters of a tweet, but it's actually a real legit prayer, then This. Is. Huge.
Usually when I pray for something God has a way of giving me what I prayed for in a way that isn't exactly desirable. When I pray for patience I think, "Ok God help me so that I won't get so easily annoyed. Please help me to be able to wait things out. Please help me not to get so frustrated." In those moments I think God is just going to ZAP patience into me. Suddenly when I'm in a long line I will not longer be annoyed. When I'm waiting in traffic I will be able to amuse myself with other things and won't care that I'm incredibly late for work. When I'm listening to a really long story or waiting for my food to arrive at a restaurant or waiting to receive a call back or an email I won't be so easily frustrated. Instead I'll have a sense of peace that just comes over me in the midst of all of this. Magic. But prayer isn't magic. Usually when we pray for things God has to GROW these qualities in us. So if I pray for patience God is going to give me PLENTY of opportunities to LEARN patience. Meaning that Ill have plenty of opportunities to be inpatient. Grrrrrreat.
So I prayed for Boldness to speak. Now I'm pretty sure God is going to put me in situations that are incredibly awkward and uncomfortable where it's much easier to stay quiet than to speak up for myself.
Empathy to listen=learning that I have a lot of resentment in my heart, probably offending a few people then feeling really badly about it, hearing a lot of sad stories, being in a lot of uncomfortable conversations.
Unrest to act=being really really uncomfortable. Not being able to sleep. Other people's hurts keeping me awake at night. Feeling agitated. Finding myself in a lot of situations where people are being mistreated.
Strength to move=having to overcome fear, being bombarded with my weakness.
Confidence and love to keep going=feeling really insecure, people not agreeing with me, people arguing with me, being annoyed by people, feeling frustrated, feeling uncomfortable.
So basically by praying this prayer I have guaranteed it that I will be UNCOMFORTABLE for a while. YAY! Why do I do these things to myself? It's because I look at people like Rosa Parks.
Today is the 55th anniversary of her refusing to give up her seat. When asked why she made such a bold move she said that she was physically tired. But I think it was more than that. We all know it was more than that. She was tired. Tired of giving in. Tired of the status quo. Tired of injustice. The problem was that too many people were comfortable. Even though thousands of people had to know that this was wrong. That segregation is immoral and unjust people were comfortable with the way things were. Today we are still too comfortable. It's easier to do nothing that to do something. Even if that something could change the entire world.
We know that there is so much injustice in the world. That just because segregation as law ended with the Civil Rights Movement, that segregation as a system still goes on today. WE. All. Know. This. But we keep allowing it to go on. We are all too comfortable.
It's late so that's all for tonight, but my hope is that all of us start to pray more dangerous prayers. Because God will give us what we ask for. And in the end I will become stronger, more patient, more bold, more empathetic, more uneasy towards injustice, more confident, and more loving. And in this journey of becoming more of the woman God designed me to be, I will hopefully be able to stand up, to listen, to be still, to speak, to act, and to keep going.
Love.
Keya~ I am going to work my way through all these posts again and write a little something about them. :) I read them all and love reading what you write, want you to know so here I go...
ReplyDelete"Pray and get a different answer than what looking for" I have been wondering about something for a long time now. I wonder if Abraham, the really really old guy who became the father of many nations, ever prayed for such a big, dangerous thing? Genesis is mum about whether Abraham prayed to God "Please grant me and my old lady (seriously OLD) a son." I think God is more gracious than we know and gives us way way more than we ask for or hope for. Look at the magnitude of the generosity in giving us Son while we were yet sinners; we can't really grasp it here fully!
Love the imagery you used "Tiffany blue box...big white bow" :)
Prayer isn't about asking God for our ultimate will be done but for HIS WILL be done. The cost may be high, expensive, costly - but the only real way of worth. This is a hard lesson, how well I know and need to be reminded. I hate learning the same thing over and over; why are we so prone to forgetfulness, faithlessness and hardness? How we need true good fellowship to steer us when we are weak! :)
Misapprehension - we think the right thing is an easy thing. The right thing may be simple but that does not equate easy. Rosa Parks - the right thing was simple but doing it, that took courage, commitment, awareness.
It is sobering to realize that slavery in the United States only came officially to an end in 1865 when the 13 Amendment was ratified. That was only 146 years ago, small when you think of a nations history. The 14 Amendment recognizing African Americans as citizens came in 1868. The 15 Amendment prohibiting government in the US of denying citizens suffrage based on "race color" or previous condition of servitude didn't happen until 1870. And we know the long struggle to see these laws realized in action and practice! Only fifty seven years ago, in 1954, the Supreme Court confronted the issues of segregation, acknowledging that separate is not equal. We have come a long way as a nation and together we have further to go. Love ya xo