After our Bible study, we go around the circle to allow each man to share any prayer concerns. One man said that important decisions would be made this week about permanent custody of his children. He asked us to pray for God’s will to be done, and he wanted us to pray that if the decision went against his hopes, his heart would not be hardened.
A simple prayer, but so different from the usual list of demands we make of God: heal this illness, get me this job, find me a parking place (close to the mall entrance).
But this man’s attitude is not uncommon in the group. Parole hearings are a regular occurrence, and as an individual’s date approaches, a frequent prayer request is “to accept God’s will.” To paraphrase what I have heard over and over: “Lord, if you send me home, I’m ready to go. But if you want me here, help me to see what you want me to learn before I leave.”
Can I trust God that much?