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The prayer I no longer pray…


Over the past year, I’ve wrestled with a particular prayer that I’ve…um…given up for Lent…and [generally] for life.

It is the prayer for clarity.

Clarity is often about control.

(What this blog is NOT about is seeking God’s peace in a decision or having the Spirit’s confirmation on a particular assignment upon which you are considering. There are times to pray for clear affirmation…clarity, if you will.)

The posture that I’m talking about is a persistent drive to always know the plan! Whether it’s trying to understand how the earth was created, how it will end, or just the persistent need to always know what God’s up to in our lives. One of the greatest theologians of the 20th Century, Dietrich Bonhoeffer always said that “it is man’s arrogance that drives him to know the beginning of the world and its end because we live in the constant frustration of the middle.” No one was at the beginning, and no one knows when the end will come. (Side note: Save your money on the next ‘blood moon’ book or series claiming to have new insights into Revelation! Live full and ready!)

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (My emphasis added)

Trust and submit…two paralyzing words in our culture. They cause us to shudder as we consider the implications of these words.

It means I must relinquish control. Trusting in the Lord SHOULD BE easy, but for all of us, that desire to control and be in the know leaves us clutching things of which we should let go, and surrendering the fullness of who He is. To trust is to acknowledge who He is and to confidently embrace that which may not be clear.

When things aren’t clear, I encourage you to pray my “new” prayer. It is a prayer for great trust and courage to follow obediently, even when the road ahead lacks the clarity we desire. So stop praying for clarity and embrace who He is.

There is unspeakable joy and resonating peace for those who learn to TRUST and SUBMIT, and the promise is that “HE WILL make your paths straight!



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