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I love being around young children. I especially love to hear them laugh. They are so innocent and pure. They say the darnedest things. They can also ask a million and one questions. Why do we do this and that - What if - What for - and I suppose we have to mention - Do I have to. Does this sound familiar?
The questions, at times, seem to be endless, and can be a real test of ones patience. And I suppose God must feel the same way about us at times. Though Abraham asked the Lord not to grow impatient with him as he persisted, he asked God if he would spare the city of Sodom six times. Abraham sounds a lot like the young child with a million and one questions. He is trying to understand what is morally right. Abraham wants to know if everyone will suffer for the sin of others, or are the sinful spared for the sake of a few righteous people. Notice Abraham does not judge the situation on his own, he calls upon God for insight and understanding.
Asking helps children clarify what they want. It helps those separate good things from bad, wants from needs. Asking for things helps them discover their deepest desire, their life-purpose. That is what praying does for us.
We begin life wanting only food and comfort. Then each passing day adds another desire. We want acceptance, success, honor, money and good health. We don’t understand these cravings. They simply flow through us like an underground river. At times we aren’t even conscious of them. Each passion is driven by their own needs, the desire simply wants what it wants. And even within our desires we are conflicted. When we are afraid, we are torn between fighting and fleeing. When winning is within reach, we unexpectedly lose our nerve. When we see a beloved, we don’t know whether to adore or possess. What do we do? How do we control our desires? Well, one thing is for certain; they cannot control themselves. They are mindless urges. Someone outside the system must intervene to establish order. That someone is God, more precisely, God’s Spirit.
That is where prayer enters the picture. Prayer is dealing with earthy matters of work and play, happiness and suffering. It is not deciding what we want and then tacking on the name of Jesus. Prayer aligns what we want with what God wants. Paul wrote that we do not know how to pray, we do not know what we really want. It is God’s own serene Spirit who organizes and pacifies our wayward wishes. Left to our own devices, our blind desires could lead us where we don’t want to end up, make us someone we don’t want to be. But our desires are not enemies, they are us. They are part of the package that God gave us to love God and each other. We cannot destroy our desires without distorting our very self. Each of us has a unique set of desires that make us who we are. We simply have to corral our desires and use their energy for our own good. We sometime ask for snakes and scorpions without realizing that’s what they are. They’re often well disguised.
Persistence in prayer doesn’t change God’s mind. It changes our insight and responsiveness. God knows what we need even before we ask. That’s God’s extravagant love. Our persistence in prayer helps us hear what we are asking God, helps us distinguish our needs from our wants and helps us hear God’s response.