Are Details Necessary?

I only have to do two things: die and pay taxes. Have you ever heard that? Well, "eternal life" sort of takes the death thing off the table. But what about pray and pay taxes? 1 Thessalonians 5:17 makes it clear: pray without ceasing. And maybe, when it comes to taxes, you're praying a little more than usual. Consider this, the way you --or your accountant -- prepare your tax forms. Someone (hopefully) records diligently, methodically every financial detail of the past three hundred sixty-five days. Those details are important and, in some cases, can save a lot of heartache. 

Is the same true of prayer? Just how important is detail? A friend of mine calls some prayer requests "godly gossip" --her tongue-in-cheek way of saying the sharing of prayer requests has devolved into something much less like concern and much more like spilling the tea. We've all heard it: Pray for my neighbor who has MS and she's all alone because her husband just up and left her three years ago, and her daughter isn't speaking to her because of something that happened last Thanksgiving, and her son's institutionalized... "Godly gossip." Truly nothing godly about it, and we definitely need to be wary of that. But there's another sort of attention to detail that may often be unnecessary. How about this one: Jesus, please do x, y, and z because she is just so young and has small children who need their mama, and a husband who is currently unemployed... It's not gossip after all; we're talking to Jesus. My concern here is the additional context. What is it saying? That because she is worthy, or her circumstances are so dire (in our opinion) we are petitioning the Lord for healing? Are we expecting the additional context is what will sway Jesus to act. And what are we asking? Are we being specific in our request because x, y, and z are the best course of action? the only course of action? Are we pleading with the God of the universe, the God who made this woman, who knows her deepest need --are we requesting God heal her or provide for her, or are we submitting our plan and demanding God approve it? Here's the way this situation needs to be resolved, and here's why she is/ is not worthy of such a solution. 

I'm not trying to start trouble. God knows what we want before we ever open our mouths. God knows our hearts and certainly knows if we are asking His will or demanding He rubber stamp ours. God wants us to have compassion for one another, and things like motherless children or the death of a young person grab our hearts. We were made to yearn for good things like health and security and strong marriages and parents who get to see their children graduate and children who care for their aging parents; there is nothing wrong with wanting those things (wanting is what causes us to pray and work for change this world). But I think we have to be very careful about putting God or situations into a box. 

In Jonah 1:2, God commands Jonah: Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me. We all know the story: Jonah decided the people of Nineveh were beyond help, and not a group of folks he was willing to risk his life to save. And I'm not sure I would have felt any differently had I been in Jonah's sandals. But God saw a people worth redeeming. When we bring our petitions before the Lord, are we trying to see things as He sees them, or are we trying to manipulate Him into doing what we want or expect? The Holy Spirit is our guide as we pray: Holy Spirit, what am I to be praying for in this situation? We pray honestly to the One who knows our hearts: Jesus, here is what I want, or Here is what I see as the only solution, but... We pray as Jesus Himself prayed in Gethsemane: Father, not my will, but Your will be done. We ask for the same insight God has --and the longer we are in relationship with Him, He will develop it in us --but ultimately, we trust His will. However He chooses to act, for whomever He chooses to act, for whatever reasons He chooses to act. We persist in prayer, we pour out our hearts, but we trust Him.

Whether it's a poor single mother or the wicked people of a "great city" God does not desire the loss of any human spirit. The more folks that come to know Him, the more His glory will be known throughout the world. Jesus died for all, as there is none of us worthy. So, all those little details --how generous she is or how rebellious they are or how hopeless the situation appears --shouldn't amount to a hill of beans when it comes to our prayers. The means God uses to bring His plans to fruition are at His discretion and according to His perfect knowledge of the situation, not "the best course of action as seen from our view in the cheap seats." The Bible doesn't make it any clearer: pray without ceasing. No caveats, no disclaimers, no details to force God's hand, no roadmaps to success. Let's just pray and trust Him with outcomes. Save the details for your accountant.