Dangerous Prayer . . .

On the whole, we pray pretty safe prayers. On the one hand, we can pray fairly innocuous prayers, such as saying grace before meals or vague requests such as, “God, be with Bob today.” These prayers really don’t require a lot of faith on our part, mainly because, most of the time, we’re not actually communicating anything of substance. I’m not saying these prayers are wrong. I just think that, on some level, God may want us to be a little bolder, a little more forward thinking.

On the other side of the fence, there are those prayers that we can be fairly certain won’t turn out that way we’d really want them to. These would include prayers like: God, let me pick the winning lottery numbers this week; Lord, let me find a Porsche in the driveway in the morning; God, let Anne Hathaway realize she’s madly in love with me. These prayers are pretty ridiculous in scope, and we usually know as we pray them that it just ain’t going to happen (though I’m still holding out hope for that Anne Hathaway thing).

Then there are those who dare to pray the dangerous prayers; the ones that require more on our part than just uttering some words in the general direction of Heaven. These require a heavy dose of faith, as well as some investment on our part. I’ve started to borrow one that David wrote in Psalms. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

That’s a pretty bold prayer. Think about it this way; when you go to the doctor for a physical exam, you want the doc to be pretty thorough, even if it involves some discomfort. Why? If there’s something wrong with you, you want it discovered so that you can take the measures necessary to be healed. David wanted the same thorough exam for his heart, so that he could grow stronger and become more and more the man after God’s own heart that he was meant to be.

This is my desire as well. I want so much to live up to what I was designed for, to realize the potential that was placed in me since before I was born. I want to be known as a man after God’s own heart, too. Growing into that description requires lots of examination and a form of spiritual surgery. Not comfortable, not preferable, but it’s absolutely necessary.

So, I offer a challenge. Take David’s prayer as your own. It’s not an easy prayer, because, when God answers it, you’ll have some work to do. But, on the other side of it all, you’ll be better off for having done it.