The primary thing that has to be given up is knowing what is good for us. – Polly Berrien Berends
A guy I know recently told me that he’s tired of just providing the basics for his family, that he wants to be able do anything he wants without worrying about how much it costs. He’s determined to make a lot of money this year, and he’s asked God to help him.
This is a good example of false prayer. He’s completely ignoring the good in his life right now. Or another way of saying this: he’s ignoring God in his life right now. It makes me wonder whether he’d be better off not doing this kind of praying at all.
I have this image of fugitive billionaire Marc Rich praying for his pardon. He pretty much had all the material possessions a person could want, plus a few other things like massive amounts of power and influence. But he didn’t have freedom — he missed both his father’s and daughter’s funerals while living in Switzerland — so he used his money to influence those in a position to plead for a presidential pardon and he finally succeeded. If he prayed for a pardon, though, it was a false prayer. It could all turn out to be fine for a while, but there are indications that the notoriety from his pardon has the world turning against him. His empire could soon crumble. He probably won’t see that as his prayers being answered.
It occurs to me, though, that I probably have lots of false prayers going on in my head much of the time, just below the level of awareness. I don’t invoke God generally, but they’re really not all that much different than someone who does. I might think to myself, “I hope I play relaxed during my next racquetball match.” My real reason for wanting this might be because I want to win and impress somebody. That’s not all that different from someone who says, “Please Jesus, help me win today” which I’ve always looked down upon as immature. There’s that judgmental me again.
I wonder what other false prayers I’m praying without realizing it?