Nancy Guthrie begins an article on prayer this way…
“It is one thing to be asked to pray for another person. I’m happy to do it. I want to do it. I must admit, though, I am not always faithful to do it. However, it is another thing to be told what to ask God for in the situation. I’ve noticed that often requests for prayer come with specific instructions on how to pray. I call it a ‘please pray for my predetermined positive outcome’ request.
And while I’m questioning our accepted methods of requesting prayer, I’ve got to ask, why do we seem to make it our goal to get as many people as possible praying toward our predetermined positive outcome? Is it that we think God is resistant to doing what is good and right but can be pressured by a large number of people to relent and deliver? Do we think that the more people we recruit to pray for the same thing will prove our sincerity or improve our odds?”
What follows is both a needed correction and filled with hope as we learn how to pray in ways that are shaped by the Scriptures. I’d encourage you to read and think upon the entire article, which you can find here.
