When I first became a Christian at 15, I prayed for everything. I remember specifically seeing Jesus sitting next to me during an Algebra II test and asking him if he would help me with the answer to number 22. My mother teased me for praying for parking spaces, and I think eventually began to pray for them herself. Now I will stop in the middle of a conversation with one of my kids and just ask God for whatever it is they are needing in a tough situation they are describing — help understanding environmental science, wisdom for a conflict, a parking space at the Auburn library during exam week…Is it wrong to pray for the little needs in life? Is that just selfish?
I was encouraged by Paul Miller’s encouragement that to become like a little child is to tell God about everything. He writes about a spiritual writer who said it was selfish to pray for trivial things. He told his mom, Rose-Marie Miller, the 82 year-old missionary about this point, and she responded, “Well, how else would you find a parking spot?” This woman, as a missionary her whole life, had learned she was utterly dependent on God for everything. As we have said before, the answer may be “no,” but to ask is to show that you truly believe God is a personal God who supplies our daily needs. Read what Rose-Marie wrote in her journal when she and her husband were doing missions work in post-Idi-Amin rule in Uganda:
Words simply fail to express the almost total chaos of a country after eight years of a brutal civil war. When we use the bathroom, if we are fortunate, the toilet will flush — if not you get the fire hose from the end of the hall — if you are too late, then you find others have used it before you — so you learn to pray for water.If it comes on in the middle of the night, you fill the tub so you can wash in the morning…
You pass a building bombed out. You pass through dirty streets praying as you go that no one will take your wallet.
You meet some Asians in a hotel. They are very interested in your weaving project so they say, “We will help with the material but we don’t have transportation,” so again you pray.
The temptation to be aware of self and its utter limitations is strong. There are times when I pray, “Lord, I can’t go through the day.” in Paul Miller, A Praying Life
The point is to see how desperate and dependent we are on the Lord and Giver of Life for every moment of our day. Try it today. Pay attention and pray for all sorts of things. Let me know if it makes you feel more selfish or more aware of the futility of your self-reliance:)!
