Why Pray If The Outcome Remains The Same?

Why should I pray if the outcome is already predetermined?

For a while I had gotten to a place where I struggled with how to pray, and why….what’s the point if the outcome is already decided, even written?!  Then I realized that prayer is about a conversation, it’s about open and honest communication between me and God.  Yes, the outcome of my life (and the lives of others) and the events in between now and the end are pre-determined, but I want to understand both the process and the outcome better, I want to have peace, comfort, support, encouragement, and strength in the waiting, walking, and in the revealing……no matter what or how long that takes or how it looks to my flesh (my limited human sight and thoughts).  So I began to pray for God to give me wisdom and understanding in whatever I’m discussing with Him that day, and my prayer continues to be that He will sustain me while I wait; I pray that He will give me a faith-filled peace in whatever I’m walking through and/or arriving to.  I pray for strength and wisdom to trust that HIS plan is to give me Hope and a Future (Jeremiah 29:11) and to embrace the knowledge that He is working ALL things for my good (Romans 8:28)….no matter how it might look to my, again, limited human ability to mentally and emotionally process. 

SEEK WITH ALL YOUR HEART!

Some of the most fulfilling and rewarding moments I’ve had in my prayer times have always come through the prayers I prayed without barriers and filters….just real, raw, conversations with God, usually while hiking in the woods at Sweetwater Creek State Park.  Moments when I just stripped it all down to the bare framework.  These were also usually times when I needed a whole lot of answers in a short amount of hike time.  I didn’t have time for large elaborate words or even casual “warm up formalities”, I needed to get down to business and I needed to remove all pretenses.  Just FULL transparency, kind of like speed dating but in prayer form.  In those moments, I just lay it all out there and then walk in silence, allowing myself time to process and allowing God time to respond to all that I have just verbally vomited…..* uh um *……I mean…..spoken to Him. 

So I’m going to share a guilty pleasure of mine with you….it’s called…….”The Bachelore/Bachelorette”.  There….I said it….I’m hooked….don’t judge!  But it always fascinates me how we get to watch an entire love story play out, from intro to proposal, all in the course of just a few weeks’ time.  But the part that used to drive me crazy is when the participants just jump right into the whole “getting vulnerable” thing…….like “Hi I’m Steve, you’re so incredibly beautiful, and by the way, I was raised by a single mom, I see a therapist for Daddy issues and an eating disorder, and my dog died right before I got on the plane to come here.  Would you like to join me on a 3-month journey to finding happily ever after?!”  ………..aaaaaand heeeeere’s your first impression rose!!   Like….What?!  But you know what, that kind of cut-to-the-chase, no filter, guard down, vulnerability……I gotta show some respect for that kind of bravery!!  And I think it’s because I have come to a place in my life where that is exactly how I have to approach God!! 

I had to get to that place, in my own personal relationship with God, of just laying it all out there, no sugar coating, just “Lord, I’m not gonna lie….I suck sometimes….here’s how….but that’s exactly why I need you!!!” kind of place before I could finally begin to truly see and feel God moving in my life.  I can almost hear God saying, “YES…….NOW we’re getting somewhere!!!”  It wasn’t that he wasn’t there or moving prior to my bold “bare all”, it’s just that I was too distracted and caught up in all my insecurities to truly be alert and aware of my surroundings….which was GOD….surrounding me every second of every day of every year throughout my life!!! 

I look back on all the times I thought God wasn’t answering me, only now I’ve fast forwarded a few years. When I examine my life in retrospect, I can CLEARLY see ALLLLL the ways He was moving and shifting and positioning me and my blessing for a greater outcome than I could have imagined then, and certainly couldn’t have looked ahead to know were in the making.  Had I only relaxed and just trusted Him sooner, my end results (answered prayers) would have remained the same, but MAN I could have saved myself SO much time, stress, worry, and even negative experiences, and could have probably gotten to where I wanted to be SO much quicker!!  But for way too long I was just too afraid, too insecure, and too caught up in the world around me to hear the voice of the only one who truly has complete control.  Prayer was actually intimidating to me because I never felt like I measured up to prayer “formalities” and unspoken “expectations”.

Clearly I had not read Matthew 6:7-8 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

Pray with confidence!

How many of you, after praying, feel like there’s still something you should have said or shouldn’t have said or maybe should have worded differently?  Let me just tell you friend, there is a very real enemy out there and that enemy does NOT want us to pray with confidence!!  He wants us to pray timidly, with fear and doubt, stumbling over our words because we’re over analyzing at the same time.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say, when asked to pray, “you do it, I don’t pray well.”

Folks……there is no “better” way to pray than to just open your mouth and pray what’s on your heart, real conversation, just like you would a friend, regardless of how you think you sound, and here’s why……God hears your heart!!!  His only desire is for you to engage Him in conversation!! 

“So how do you pray with confidence when the plan is already in place?” 

In Jesus’ name!

“Well what does that REALLY mean?”

I’m so glad you asked and I am SO excited to finally get to the point of this entire message!!  As my grandpa would say, “I told you all that to tell you this….” (after he’s been talking your ear off for like 20 minutes without even taking a breath, God love him). 

Jesus said that anything we ask in His name will be given to us (John 14:13). 

So then why does it feel like so many prayers go unheard or unanswered?

Well let me ask you this, whose name is the title of your car in?  Whose name is on your lease or the deed to your home?  Who has ownership?  THAT is what it means to pray IN JESUS’ NAME!!  It’s means giving Jesus ownership of whatever it is you are seeking to know or receive.  It means that you are TRUSTING that, by placing ownership in HIS name, He will respond and provide in the manner in which HE knows will meet the deepest desires of your heart AND bring glory to HIS name so that others may also know of HIS glory….and hopefully place their trust (ownership) in Him as well. 

When we pray, we are speaking and requesting from a surface level (flesh level) mind set which is SO limited to only what we can immediately see, touch, know, and/or comprehend….but Jesus is on a much different level.  Jesus already has FULL KNOWLEDGE of your future.  So He already knows EXACTLY how your prayer needs to be answered in order to provide for your EXACT needs (the REAL prayer request that you may not even be aware of).  His process for getting you there or providing along the way may not look anything like the way YOU would expect or request, but when you place ownership in JESUS’ name, He will provide in a way and at a time that is nothing short of PERFECTION, lacking absolutely NOTHING!!  This means COMPLETE fulfillment for your life, your purpose…with honor and glory to God.

This is how I now pray, “Jesus I place ownership of _________ in YOUR name and I pray that the way and the results will be honoring and glorifying to you!  I pray that you will give me strength and comfort while I wait, however long that takes, and I pray you’ll fill my mind and my heart with a peace that surpasses all human understanding as this piece of my story plays out, and especially when the results are revealed and/or the provision is received, because I trust that this is part of your PERFECT plan.”

I’d like to encourage you, if you haven’t already, to sign the title of your life over to Jesus and just watch and see how it will begin to take shape when placed “Under New Ownership”!! 

Stay authentic my friends!  

Crystal