Here's the thing about God: He knows everything.
He already knows that my mother-in-law is in pain and that I'm worried about her. He knows about my friend's children who are traveling and about today's Supreme Court deliberations. He knows about the drought, and that my young friends yearn to adopt.
So why am I praying about all of those things?
Do I believe if I shout loud enough God will say, "Wow! She really MEANS it! I'd better move those prayers to the top of the chain, and FOR SURE I'm going to have to give her exactly what she's asking for."
Or do I believe that if I have a concern and can recruit enough people to pray, by the sheer overwhelming number of votes I can cast for my side God will give me what I want? Do I think those folks who pray to win reality shows are doing God a favor by cuing Him in to the fact that they LOVE Him, so He should divinely intervene in the outcome of that show?
Well, no. I do not believe any of those things.
What I believe is that when I pray, it is not so God can hear me, it's so I can hear Him. It's the sacred time when He has my attention, on the subject I have chosen to bring to Him.
Sometimes He tells me to remember His character. That I can trust Him. That He's in control. That He loves me, and the person I've brought before Him, and He has our best interest at heart. That I need to chill the heck out and know He's a hands-on God whose fingerprints are all over the situation.
Other times He tells me to get busy being His hands and feet. Send a card. Take a meal. Hug. Babysit. Donate. Write a letter to an elected official. Give someone a cup of water to drink in His name.
But in all cases, He is sovereign. He does not need either my opinions or my advice, He only needs my attention.
I don't pray so I can tell God what to do; I pray so He can tell me what to do.
