Just something to think about…
We pray for all types of different things in our lives. We pray for health, wealth, peace, joy and strength. And of course this is just a partial list. We could include promotions at work, good grades on tests at school, direction in our lives, etc etc etc.
But if we believe the Bible to be true, how come we never pray for junk? How come we never pray for trash? How come we never pray for hard times? How come we never ask God to make things difficult in our lives?
James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
If we believe this to be true, wouldn’t it benefit it us to pray for hard times? James here is telling us that the hard times we ARE going to face produce things in us that, his words, may make us perfect and complete. I think that sounds pretty good, to be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
And what about the way we view people who are experiencing tough times. They must have done something wrong. They must be paying for all the bad things they’ve done in their lives. If only they would have enough faith they could pray the tough times away. Hmmm, maybe praying the tough time away isn’t the right thing to do. Because if we did that wouldn’t we be taking ourselves out of the steadfastness having it full effect and therefore producing in us the perfectness and completeness that we so long for?
It’s funny even as I know this, I also know that tonight when I pray I am NOT going to ask God for junk. Tomorrow at church I am NOT going to ask God for a heaping pile of trash in my life…but maybe I should. Because I am not yet perfect, not yet complete, and I still lack plenty.
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