Deepen Your Prayers By Praying Past the Circumstance

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As we looked at Acts 4:23-30, we saw the early Christians pray. When faced with threats and opposition they didn’t pray for their own safety; they prayed for God to give them boldness. And we can enrich our own prayers if we consider their example.

In the sermon Pastor Dave referenced an article by David Powlison titled “Pray Beyond the Sick List” that overlaps this theme. He wrote that praying for sick people to heal, that is, praying for their situation to improve, is, “a natural expression of loving concern.” So of course, we want to pray for that. That corresponds with the Lord’s Prayer as we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

But he continued:

Many pastoral prayers from the pulpits of many churches do not pray… very pointedly or intelligently for the sick. Many pastoral prayers sound uncannily like a nursing report at shift change in your local hospital: [Lord, we report to you] “The colon cancer in room 103 with uncertain prognosis … the lady in 110 with a gall bladder that’s not yielding to treatment … the heart patient going into surgery on Tuesday…”

Such public prayers are often medically informative, but spiritually impoverished. Usually physical healing is the sole goal of prayer… a prayer might be nothing more than requests for doctors, procedures, and medicines to be effective.

Remember, he already said that, “heartfelt prayer for the restoration of the sick… [is] a natural expression of loving concern,” but…

If you just pray for better circumstances, then God becomes the errand boy (usually somewhat disappointing) who exists to give you your shopping list of desires and pleasures—no sanctifying purposes, no higher glory. Prayer pursues self-centered gimme, gimme, gimme.

Sickness, like any other weakness and trouble, can force us to stop and face ourselves, to stop and find the Lord.

  1. Sometimes we ask God to change our circumstances.

  2. Sometimes we ask God to change us: deepen my faith, teach us to love each other, forgive our sins, make me wise where I tend to be foolish, make us know You better, enable me to [honor] You in my heart, don’t let me dishonor You, give us understanding of Scripture, teach me how to encourage others.

This article is why, if you’re in a prayer group with Pastor Dave, and you share a health concern, or an issue at work, or any other circumstance you’d like prayer for… he’ll also ask:

  • How is that affecting you?

  • What are you worried about?

  • Are you frustrated?

And he’ll pray for your circumstance, and for your soul in the midst of that circumstance.

And, so we encourage you, to pray for yourself, and for your brothers and sisters in Christ… first for the circumstance, and especially for the people:

Help me find a spouse…
And help me to grow in contentedness in Christ even as I wait.

Heal this difficult relationship…
And help me become a peacemaker, “blessed are the peacemakers,” in the midst of it.

Help us with infertility…
And help us to put our hopes in the day when you make all things new.

Please remove the threat of COVID…
And help me to number my days, that I would live wisely.

Please grant our nation a peaceful transition of administrations…
And “grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.” Or, perhaps, to begin to speak…

God can change your circumstance, he’s most interested in changing you.