What is your approach to prayer? Do you approach prayer as a petulant, tantrum-throwing child determined to get their way, or do you see the maturity and humility in approaching prayer as a dialogue with God? God does answer prayers. The problem is we tend to offer the wrong prayers. We don’t pray according to his own plan. In prayer many of us are trying to manipulate God to do our bidding. If we only surrender our will to him, asking him to open our understanding to see what he has prepared. There is a difference between praying and trying to manipulate God into doing what you want.
There is a big problem if you are worshiping a god that serves you and is committed to giving you whatever you want. This mindset is not biblical. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed three times to his Father, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup from me.” “However, not as I will, but as you will”—the KJV says, “Let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39). Later in Matthew 26:42, Jesus prays, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done”
When you approach God with an open heart and humility, you will begin to receive insights that will change your perspective on situations, circumstances, and events. You start to see beyond your own nose and into the bigger picture. And when you surrender your ego and allow God to shape it, you may one day, like Abraham, become a leader capable of negotiating the future of nations with the divine. Train yourself to meditate on the word of God and to sit quietly in the presence of God. Let your prayer time become a humble dialogue. An exchange between your limited mind and the unlimited God.
