Ask for what pleases God

Author(s)Zac Neubauer
Date 7 April 2023
Category Sixty days of prayer
Tags Sixty days of prayer

Heavenly Father,

mercifully hear the prayers of your people,

and, so that we may obtain our petitions,

teach us to ask for such things as may please you,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

I am the father of four boys and they often come to me with requests. Because I love my boys, I want to say yes to their requests, so as to make them happy. However, there are frequent occasions when my sons come to me with a request they think will make them happy. These requests are at best selfish and at worst are requests for things that (even though they don’t realise it in their youth and naivety) would bring them harm.

We as sinful humans (even those who are God’s people through the waters of baptism) err in prayer by not asking appropriate things of our Heavenly Father. At best we err out of naivety, at worst we err because of our sinful desires. In both instances we need to be taught to ask for the things that please our Heaven Father.

How does God teach us what we should pray for? He teaches us in and through Holy Scripture. As we immerse ourselves in Holy Scripture our prayers will no longer “conform to the pattern of this world, but [will] be transformed by the renewing of [our minds]. Then [we] will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2).

But what about all the times that we continue to pray sinfully or naively? For those times we have the collect’s petition that our Heavenly Father would mercifully hear our prayers. Jesus in Matthew 7:9 rhetorically asks; “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?” Because our Heavenly Father is merciful towards us and “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20) he can and will give us bread, even when we in our naivety or sinfulness ask for stones.

So pray this with me:

Heavenly Father,

mercifully hear the prayers of your people,

and, so that we may obtain our petitions,

teach us to ask for such things as may please you,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.