Mark Batterson says sometimes we need to pray "get me through" prayers rather than "get me out" prayers.
In his book Draw the Circle, Batterson says that sometimes God's answer is "No" when we pray to get out of a tough situation. Why he says no can be hard to determine.
But rather than getting angry and giving up, Batterson urges us to pray our way through and get insight into what God is doing in our lives.
"Can our prayers change our circumstances?" asks Batterson, pastor of a large church in Washington, D.C. "Absolutely! But when our circumstances don't change, it's often an indication that God is trying to change us."
He points out that the chief objective of many of our prayers is "our own personal comfort rather than God's glory".
Sometimes these prayers do not further God's plan for our lives.
So Batterson says he has learned to change his approach when God says "No" to one of his prayers.
"Even when a prayer isn't answered the way I want, I have a peace that passes understanding because I know that God heard me. It just means the answer is no. And I've learned to praise God when the answer is no, not just when the answer is yes."
A "no" answer may be because we are asking for the wrong thing or for the wrong reason or at the wrong time.
"And I'm convinced that the day will come when we thank God for the prayers he did not answer as much as the ones he did because he had a better answer."
The best answer brings God glory.
The prayers of David - his Psalms - are littered with "get me through" prayers. And God did take him through some very tough times. David learned from his mistakes and he is known in the scriptures as a "man after God's own heart".
For me, Mark Batterson's comment is a timely reminder. God knows best and he is working things out for my good and his glory.
In his book Draw the Circle, Batterson says that sometimes God's answer is "No" when we pray to get out of a tough situation. Why he says no can be hard to determine.
But rather than getting angry and giving up, Batterson urges us to pray our way through and get insight into what God is doing in our lives.
"Can our prayers change our circumstances?" asks Batterson, pastor of a large church in Washington, D.C. "Absolutely! But when our circumstances don't change, it's often an indication that God is trying to change us."
He points out that the chief objective of many of our prayers is "our own personal comfort rather than God's glory".
Sometimes these prayers do not further God's plan for our lives.
So Batterson says he has learned to change his approach when God says "No" to one of his prayers.
"Even when a prayer isn't answered the way I want, I have a peace that passes understanding because I know that God heard me. It just means the answer is no. And I've learned to praise God when the answer is no, not just when the answer is yes."
A "no" answer may be because we are asking for the wrong thing or for the wrong reason or at the wrong time.
"And I'm convinced that the day will come when we thank God for the prayers he did not answer as much as the ones he did because he had a better answer."
The best answer brings God glory.
The prayers of David - his Psalms - are littered with "get me through" prayers. And God did take him through some very tough times. David learned from his mistakes and he is known in the scriptures as a "man after God's own heart".
For me, Mark Batterson's comment is a timely reminder. God knows best and he is working things out for my good and his glory.
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