Is there a risk when we pray? When we lay our hearts bare before God isn't there a chance that we will not get our own way? Of course, there is! Prayer is not about me telling God how to answer my prayers, but rather about re-aligning my spirit with God's Spirit.
When I see prayer in this way, then I am open to say what Daniel said: "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, o King. But even if he does not, we want you to know ... that we will not serve your gods."
My prayers start from a position of trust in God. I can safely say, "Not my will, but yours!" Yancey reminds us that prayer is a way of getting God's will done on earth, not ours!
The other risk in prayer is that God asks us to be the answer to our own prayers. It is easy to prayer for the poor to have food and shelter, but perhaps God is asking us to be his 'hands and feet' in answering the prayer. That is very challenging. Perhaps this is why Eugene Peterson wrote:
"Be slow to pray. Praying puts us at risk of getting involved with God's conditions...praying most often doesn't get us what we want, but what God wants."
Let's be committed to pray. Are you willing to take a Risk?
Empowered by Grace,
D3LM3
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