Bring On The Glory

While doing the Bible Study homework on the book of James this past week, a line stood out in living color: “God desires for us to get into an alignment with Him where we start praying for the things that will bring glory to His name.” (emphasis added)

Thunderbolt. Many times I, as I’m sure you do as well, include “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done” at the conclusion of my prayers. And we mean it. Don’t we? But do we not still want what we want: healing, deliverance, provision, that special relationship, that job, that school? And when we dont get the answer we desire, we say God hasn’t answered our prayers. Yes, He has.

James tells us that motives are key in bringing our prayers to God. We ask, but we ask amiss, wanting what we want, the outcome we desire in a given situation. What if our prayers instead were stated, “Lord, I pray for the answer that will bring You the greatest glory, and result in Your greatest good out of this situation!” Now we’re into the realm of total relinquishment, a level deeper, to my thinking, than His Kingdom come and His will be done. Not that those don’t summarize it all, but somehow for me praying for His glory and His greatest good, allows me to submerge and submit myself into the prayer in ways I didn’t before.

Many times this kind of prayer is very difficult; after all, who of us wouldn’t pray for healing, provision, deliverance, protection of someone in need. And I think that is fine, and God expects it of us. The kindness in our nature compels us to do so. Yet, what did Jesus tell Peter, when Peter wanted to spare Him suffering: Get thee behind me, Satan! Who of us would have wanted Jesus to suffer the way He did on the way to and on the Cross! Who of us would not have prayed He be spared. However. Without that suffering we would all be doomed. Hard truth, but truth nevertheless. We simply don’t know the mind and purposes of God in all things.

There is a suffering that is redemptive in nature, but that’s a topic for another day. The Old Testament is filled with examples of the discipline of God’s people when they were in rebellion to Him. But better that than eternal separation. I’m not saying every negative circumstance in a person’s or a nation’s life is due to God’s discipline. We live in a fallen and Satanically controlled world; we live in the midst of multiple forces against us. But in every circumstance I’m convinced that God wants to bring redemption–including to our character. That’s why we can safely ask Him to do what brings Him the greatest glory, and us the greatest good. May not look the way we want it to, but we can trust God to be doing all things well–including fulfilling a far grander purpose than we can imagine.

Am I alone in having difficulty discerning the heart/will of God in the things I pray for? I take great comfort in Romans 8:26-27, The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition:

²⁶ So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.

²⁷ And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.

Oh my: “but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf,” (emphasis added). Think about that! The Holy Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplications and pleads for us to make them perfect before the Throne. The Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete in the Greek, one who is a helper. Here we see Him being the Paraclete to our prayers. I can hardly get my mind around that!

Truly, Beloved, we can trust that our prayers will be perfected by the Holy Spirit–and when we pray for God’s greatest glory and His greatest good, maybe He doesn’t have to work as hard.