Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s)

I have trouble with prayer a lot of times. Especially when I call it prayer. I very much enjoy a steady dialogue with God throughout my day, but when it comes to “praying for someone” or even just asking for myself… I’m still not certain how best to do that.

See, it seems to me that many of my asks are from my perspective. I see something a certain way, and have a certain desired outcome, and so, I ask God for that. I don’t think that’s wrong in general, but often I feel under qualified to make such decisions. I mean, why am I asking God for something specific when clearly he knows the best thing for me and/or those around me for whom I am asking, right?

Right.

But does that mean we can’t pray? Certainly not. God asks us to ask him. (I still don’t get that, but he does.) So I continue to ask, and I continue to struggle with the asking.

As I was chatting with a good friend tonight, (who leaves in the morning for a 10-day trip to the Dominican Republic with his entire family, including a one-year-old!) I wanted to let him know we’d be praying for them. But then all of these thoughts came up. I mean, once I start asking for something, I usually find a way out of asking. It’s very strange. But I know there is value in asking God for stuff… so I just began trying to say what I wanted to say in other words.

I told him we’d be thinking of them often. That is very true. We’ll miss them, and I’m sure they’ll come to mind quite often. We do a lot of life together. So, then I said, “…asking God whatever he might put on our hearts as we [think of you].” As I hit return in iChat, I thought, “That’s it. That’s how I want to ask. I want God, Holy Spirit, Jesus… any of them… to tell me what to ask!”

And that was it. That was my answer. That relieves the burden from me. I can not know what they need. I was going to say I would pray for protection, but perhaps that is not the best thing. I was going to pray for a “fruitful” trip, but that word is so subjective there are not two people who would completely agree on how that word is defined. What I really want to do is, as I think of them… I want Spirit to lead me in my askings.

Isn’t that how we should pray? Doesn’t he know all of us best? He is right with all of us who are his Church. He is in our midst, and right with each of us. And, he is building his church, so he knows best what we need to do, and ask for.

Perhaps that was a little piece toward opening up my conversations with God. Not really opening up more words, just opening up the freedom of “praying” for people, as the Spirit leads me to. That’s a crazy phrase, and perhaps some of you reading this just cringed a bit. But, if we really believe that Jesus is building his church, then maybe we need to let him prompt our askings, rather than coming to him with an agenda already planned out.

What if he doesn’t “prompt” me? What if I don’t feel “led” in any specific direction??? Chill out. If I think of something… good. If not, then just relax. Trust that if God wanted me to ask something specific, he would have led me… since he is the one who’s leading. That has been a recurring theme in my life of late. Really trust God to lead. Lead me, lead you, and lead his church.

Of course, since he is so good at leading his church.. I could just be hearing what he wants for me, and not at all what he wants for you. 🙂 So, listen to him… let him lead you where he wants to.

Follow the Leader.