Christian Living
The man said his prayer in King James English. Sounded spiritual. He finished by asking God to help the church overcome what were almost certainly demonic attacks. Then he closed with “We pray this, O Lord, if it be thy will. Amen.”
What? I peeked at the man in the prayer group. He’s asking if it’s God’s will for the church to overcome demonic powers? I was a visitor to the group, so I bit my lips to keep quiet. Doesn’t he read the Bible? The whole New Testament and most of the Old make clear that it’s God’s will for believers to overcome demonic powers.
Then I prayed in machine-gun English. Spat the words. Quoted the Scripture. Actually expected God to do something. To this day, that church has overcome the demonic threats.
Praying in God’s will is not an insurance claim that lets us ask for stuff yet makes sure the Big Guy in the Sky still gets his way. Nor is it a poetic subjunctive clause Jesus tossed us to pin at the end of our prayers.
Praying in the will of God is an invitation to a wrestling match.
Jacob wrestled with the angel (Genesis 32:22–32), who could have whompped him any time but didn’t because the match was one of faith and will. The angel commended him.
Jesus wrestled with the Father (Luke 22:39–44) and actually admitted he’d rather not be crucified. The Father sent an angel to strengthen him. Yes, the Father helped the Son wrestle with him.
Wrestling with God is not only okay, it’s important. When we struggle in prayer, we grow closer to God. We can be mad at someone at a distance, but wrestling pulls us into close contact. As we grapple, we may hear that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit whisper to our inner ear, or feel a certainty in our gut, or see God working in our circumstances. And hopefully we will change.
When change makes us more like Christ, it brings freedom. Because when we wrestle with God, we are also struggling with ourselves—our pride, our weakness, and our attitudes that can cause so much trouble. They—not God—are our real problem and the source of most conflicts in prayer.
So the best thing that can happen when we wrestle with God is to lose. When our hearts align with him and our requests align with his Word, we begin to get the big-time answers to prayer (1 John 5:14–15). That usually happens when we look past our wants and fears and see things from God’s point of view. Then we see his purpose for us that goes beyond our immediate wants. This all happens in the same way a child whines about having to quit playing video games in order to go on a surprise trip to Disneyland.
May you have the boldness to wrestle with God. And may you lose. Then you will win.
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