Derek and I have been reading through Mark Batterson’s book,
Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge, in the last month. It’s
been one of those intentional slow reads to really process, retain, and apply
the principles as we learn them. We’ve made all sorts of annotations throughout
the pages, and today we had a few minutes to sit down and do it together. Well,
I wanted to slam the book down after reading a few sentences that didn’t sit
too well with MY stubborn personal philosophy this morning. In other words, I had
an opinion, and the Bible said otherwise. Ouch!
"Quit Praying” is interesting enough for a title, right? A
few paragraphs in and I’m thinking, “Ok, I understand this… there are some
prayers that we make expecting God to give an answer when we’re already
equipped to act on the request. Simple, cool.” Then, page 156 happened:
“There are some
things we don’t need to pray about. We don’t need to pray about loving our
neighbors. We don’t need to pray about giving generously or serving
sacrificially. We don’t need to pray about blessing someone when it is in our
power to do so. We don’t have to pray about turning the other cheek or going
the extra mile. God has already spoken on these subjects. There comes a moment
when praying becomes a form of spiritual procrastination. It’s time to stop Praying
and start acting.”
Now, Batterson is careful to remind us to not misinterpret
the information. Yes, we should pray about everything; however, there comes a
time to draw the line where we have to stop using prayer to buy time on issues
where the Lord has already spoken on what to do. Truthfully, there aren’t as
many excuses as I might like to think there are for certain things!
I laughed after reading the section mentioned above because,
for example, I have been praying for a little while now for the willingness to
be more understanding, patient, kind, (you get the point) to a someone
who pushes all of my wrong buttons. Yes, I care for this person but I’ve been
thinking that praying over the issue would give me some magical insight on what
to do- like maybe an excuse to ignore?
Let’s be honest, I’m just telling the truth. Instantly, after reading Batterson’s
words, I knew that I had been using that prayer as a means of disobedience
because God has already spoken on what I need to do:
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to
you…” Matt. 7:12
“Let all
bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you,
along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Eph. 4:31-32
^ these are only two
of the many verses that give me God’s instruction plain and clear!^
So,
what does this mean for me (and you!) as a wife? Well, it means a whole lot! Yes,
there are times where I ask, umm, beg God to give me the patience to
not lose my temper with Derek over something that he might have said or done to
offend me. Why am I asking God for that when He has already spoken?
“Understand
this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” James
1:19
What about the
times that we feel like we have the right to hold a grudge against and not
forgive our spouse?
“Make
allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.
Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Col. 3:13
I know, I know- you’re thinking
that I’ve rained on your parade. “NOOOOO, G! My excuses, you 've ruined them!” It’s
ok, you’ll forgive me. I might have been a little upset at Mr. Batterson for
messing up my personal theology too, but I am so thankful for the divine
reminder on page 156 because it’s exactly what I needed to read this morning to
renew my mind. While, YES, we should pray about everything (Phil. 4:6) let’s
filter our requests this week through the answers God has already given us in
his Word. Then, see how a particular request might be able to change into an
immediate action! I’m up for the challenge! :)
