Simple Mind

I was praying for a friend this afternoon and was smacked upside the head by God with the realization I am utterly inadequate when it comes to prayer. We all are. Think about it. First off look at the structure of prayer: we pray to God, by the Son, through the power of the Spirit. We can't even talk to God on our own, we need two others to get us to that point!!! Second, in Romans 8:26 Paul says it like it really is, "we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." Our finite minds simply cannot grasp that which we should be praying for. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us God's thoughts and ways are way beyond our comprehension. The heart and mind of God are so far deeper than ours, who am I to approach prayer with any hint of pride, boldness yes, pride no.

So I was sitting there praying for a dear friend, that God uses the next two months as a time of intense preparation for what lies ahead. And I was hit with this; what if all she really needs in the next two months is rest? Or quality time with friends and family? What if her whole life up til now, or the last five years has been the intense preparation? I don't know the mind of God. I can't presume to know it. That's why I need the Spirit. Because he takes that simple-minded, one dimensional prayer and makes it what it should be. In the end, the root of my prayer is that God makes ready my friend and I believe that is what the Spirit takes to God. And I believe that is what God answers. Similarly when I pray for the fellowship of believers I crave God will answer but it might be with the details I map out.

Such is the bigness of God colliding with the smallness of me. Amen.