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Saturday, February 19, 2005
There's a scene in the movie "Bruce Almighty" (in which Jim Carrey plays Bruce, a newscaster who gets to have God's job for a short period of time) in which Bruce is listening to people's prayers. He consolidates them into a database on his computer but they keep coming in faster than he has the capability to answer them.
In order to keep his hard drive clean, he decides to highlight all the prayers on his database and then hits "yes to all."
Chaos ensues as everybody's prayers were answered. The one that stands out is a newscast in which the broadcaster informs the viewer that there were an astounding number of lottery winners...something like 20 million people won the 21 million dollar award. They all won a dollar.
And I think about my prayers sometimes.
If I'm honest with myself, I kinda pray to God with an idea of what I think the best answer to the prayer is. For example, one time I was praying for one of my children who was having surgery on her ear. I prayed with the right words. I mean, it was this kind of prayer:
"God, you know my daughter is having surgery. Her ear is in bad shape. I want your will to be done...*nudge nudge wink wink*...but what I pray for is that her ear will be healed by the work the surgeon does and that she'll have full hearing restored about a week after the deal."
I had in my mind the best possible outcome. I wanted that.
It didn't work out that way.
In fact, there was another surgery...and both cost us some money we didn't really have. She was in some pain. She missed school and all that entails. And when all was said and done, we spent more money we didn't really have on a hearing aid.
How was that the best?
Well, looking back on it all, I guess if God had answered the prayers the way I wanted I might have a little more money in my bank account and my daughter's ear would work. But I imagine that I would have long forgotten all about it after the initial "thanks a bunch, God" prayer that I hope would've followed after all was well. I would've moved on with life.
Instead, I learned some lessons about how to depend on God when the bills came in. I learned some lessons about myself, and how to serve my wife and family when the tough times came around. I learned a lot about being thankful to God as I found out what could've happened to my child if we'd waited three months. I am now sensitive to seeing other children's hearing aids...and there are more than I'd have imagined. I can now pastor a little better when other parents go through surgery and waiting rooms and recovery. I could go on and on. Really. But you get the idea.
God answered my prayer because he knew what was best for me...not what was easiest or most efficient or most comfortable. Because He loves me. Because He wants a more intimate relationship with me.
And that's what Paul was getting after in the last half of the verses we read yesterday:
"...may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly beyond all we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, Amen."
Paul prays for us that we would be able to understand how "deep and wide" (great children's ministry song!) God's love is for us. It is bigger than our ability to understand or know. That we'll be filled up with the fulness of God.
God is able to do more than we can even ask or think.
Think about THAT.
Think about what you'd pray for and then come up with your wildest dream of how that prayer would be answered. You would't be able to dream up the best possible outcome or answer. It goes so much beyond lottery winnings and convertibles and houses and pools and having MTV Cribs come by for the shoot and not having to have your Ride Pimped.
It's about Him. His glory.
And our relationship with the God of the universe.
So, as we begin to wrap up our discussion on prayer...the issue is really do you trust God with the answer to your prayers, and do you experience His love and grow in your relationship with Him?
Brent 6:21 AM
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