I didn’t want to leave the impression in the last post that God only cares about us in a spiritual sense. I still pray for health. I still pray for loved ones to be healed of their illness. I still pray for safety for my family. But that is not all I pray for. I pray that God would help me grow closer to him no matter what it takes. I pray that my family has a healthy relationship with him no matter what the cost. I pray for God’s will to be done in our lives even if it hurts some times. And then I let God figure out the best way to answer those prayers in all his infinite wisdom, despite my infinite ignorance.
I am convinced that God loves all of us both body and soul and that he is at work redeeming both. We know that when it is all said and done that he is going to bring complete healing and renewal to all of our bodies and our souls when Christ returns. So even if a prayer for healing is answered no, I know that answer is temporary. At the end of it all God says, “YES!”
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I had never really considered that we might be praying against God’s best interest. I think His interests and ours should be the same. I find John 10:10 tells us who is stealing from us and who is trying to kill us, and also who is giving us abundant life; but we do need to realize He is a sovereign God. More importantly we need to understand that His answer will always be the correct one. We may not like it; but He is always right.
i think you’re on to something big–bigger than we think. In Acts 4, after a bout of persecution, the disciples prayed together. They didn’t ask for safety, or for the authorities to lighten up, or to make things easier. They prayed for boldness.
i’m not sure it’s wrong to pray for comforts. But what we seek reflects our values. How much of our prayers are about seeking comforts rather than seeking spiritual growth regardless of how uncomfortable God has to make it in order to get us that growth?
–Guy