In ministry, you get to hear a lot of different prayer requests and a lot of different prayers prayed. While it is true that there is no wrong way to pray, there is one particular type of prayer that makes me more uneasy then the rest - the prayer of bargaining. The prayer that tells God what to provide in order to receive that person's thanksgiving and praise.
I think this type of prayer doesn't sit comfortably with me, because it assumes that God should give us exactly what we want when we want it, when maybe this is the absolute last thing that we need. It also presupposes, not God's goodness and our overflowing blessings, but our need. Sometimes when people start to pray in this manner, I wish I could just stop them and reframe the question not as what they want, but into what they have already been given. Or in the words for yesterday's sermon, "What are you most grateful for these days?"
What are you most grateful for these days? Powerful words that linger in the air and in our hearts. Words that invite us first and foremost to give our praise where it is due. What about you, what are you most grateful for these days?
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