Saturday, May 31, 2008

Putting Prayer in Perspective

Prayer is both simple and complicated. It’s simple because we humans have needs and wants. We ask our Creator to help us get them, or to solve our problems, or for millions of other favors. Prayer is also complicated because we humans look at the present while God looks at things from the perspective of eternity. He must deal with how that one favor will affect others, perhaps many, many others, in the future.
Some of life’s trials affect me immediately and I want the problem solved now. Lately, I’ve been trying to expand my way of looking at the problem I am facing. I try to explain to God that I know I am only a speck in time. I ask him to help me keep in mind the eternal aspect of that problem. Will it still be important a year from now, a month from now, next week? I try to remember something that worried me last week that is gone from my worry-list, my prayer-list. The key words are “I try to remember...” Unfortunately, I find if difficult to follow my own advice. But I try. And I think that’s what it’s all about - trying. God cares that we are trying to improve the way we deal with each other, with our problems, with life.
So, even though I am praying for the here-and-now, I ask him to remind me that I am only a moment in the eternal scheme of things, and I ask him to help me deal with that.

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