Get Specific

I’ve done a lot of thinking since yesterday’s blog post, realizing I haven’t been specific enough when I pray. And this has probably been the case for most of my life. Oh, there have been seasons when I got right down to the nitty-gritty with God and told Him exactly what what on my mind and wow, it felt good to know that even though He knew it all anyway, I was sharing with Him the deepest longings of my heart.

I asked myself why it was that I didn’t always want to get into the details with the Lord. Upbringing, partly. I was taught that you didn’t ask others for things because that was being selfish. You were supposed to be happy and thankful with what you had. Period.

Old habits die hard.

Another aspect is the I-don’t-want-to-bother-anybody syndrome. Especially if it’s something you think you can handle on your own. And if you need something more, well, you just do it yourself or do without. Really, if you stop to consider this, it’s kinda wrong. God’s intent for mankind is family. Whether that’s your biological family, your church family, your neighborhood, or even your workplace. You were never meant to do life solo. You need people. Lots of them. And they need you.

So how does this all tie together?

God wants you to tell Him everything. He wants to hear you say out loud what’s in your heart. He wants you to be specific about what you want. I read somewhere that God doesn’t answer vague prayers. I don’t know if that’s true, but you get the idea.

I remember asking my Dad for money when I was young. It frustrated me because he would always ask me how much I needed and what it was for. He didn’t just reach into his pocket and give me a pile of cash. I wish! He wanted me to be specific.

I prayed some things this morning – asked God for some very specific things. With names. Dates. Numbers. I told Him why. I even told Him that I knew some of the things I asked for were selfish. But I think He can handle it. And I think He appreciated my boldness in coming to Him with the things that are important to me.

Tomorrow, I’m going to do it again.