I have been walking and jogging in the Dordt Recreation Center about four times a week hoping, I suppose, to add a few “cubits unto my stature” even though scripture tells us clearly that none of us can, by taking thought, add one cubit to his stature or one day to his life. (Actually, when I finish jogging I feel as though I may have subtracted some days from my life.) Since I am usually in pain when I jog, I try to find things to think about that take my mind off the pain, and this morning, as I rounded the curve at the north end of the track, I heard a young woman say to an older couple, “She wants you to pray for her, she’s potty-training her child.”
“What?” they shouted.
“Pray for her potty-training,” she shouted back.
Well, there’s food for thought. Are some things too trivial to pray for? Should we bother God with our pettiest concerns? As I try to think of prayers about trivial subjects that are recorded in scripture, I draw a blank. Hannah prayed for a child, not a dry diaper in the morning. Many people pray for healing. Some of the Psalms are prayers for the destruction of the unrighteous or for victories over their enemies. But does the Bible give us a record of someone praying to win a race or catch a fish? Jesus, it is true, told the disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the boat and they caught a huge mess of fish. But we have no indication that the fishermen/disciples prayed for a good catch.
This raises a long time family argument: When we go fishing, my daughters and wife pray that we catch fish. I don’t—though I’m sure my desire to catch fish is far greater than theirs. If our lives depended on the catching of fish, I would pray to catch fish. But all I’m really asking for as a sport fisherman, is a few moments of pleasure and a trophy that will give me bragging rights for a season. But because there are so many significant things to pray for, it seems sort of self-indulgent to pray that I catch fish.
But back to the evidence of scripture. Perhaps one could argue that history is mainly about Kings and Generals, scripture only records big events, and therefore we can’t really say that just because scripture contains no examples of prayers about relatively unimportant things, people of that time did not go to God with such things. On the other hand, the Hebrew concept of Jahweh was of someone so awesome, so fearful, that they could not even say his name. That might just indicate that they would not feel right about asking him for a puppy or naturally curly hair.
The young woman I heard on the track might argue, I suppose, that her prayers for help in potty-training indicate she has a grander concept of God than someone who refuses to bother God with such pettiness. She might say, “My God is so great that he can handle the smallest request with ease and because he so loves his creatures, his majesty is not offended by my ‘trivial’ request. Why he marks the fall of the sparrow!”
Perhaps that’s what it comes down to—one’s concept of God. You might be cautious about your petitions if your image of God is the great Creator who roars through the book of Job—“Who is this who darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” But if your dominant perception of God is the tender Shepherd or the father who runs to embrace his prodigal son, well, then you might go to him for help in potty-training your child.
But God is both—tender shepherd and roaring creator, so while our concept of God may influence the kind of petitions we come to him with, it doesn’t answer my question: Are some petitions too trivial or self-indulgent to bring to God? The best answer I can give is this: If we approach the throne of God with humility, reverence and awe, then the significance of our petition is probably irrelevant.
Oh, and one more thing. While the Bible does not say the Lord helps those who help themselves, the Lord does give most of us the wit and strength and patience that enable us to successfully potty-train a child.
And also, perhaps, the discipline and wisdom to get out of bed and exercise to maintain our health, for though we cannot add cubits to our stature, we may prevent shrinkage.
“What?” they shouted.
“Pray for her potty-training,” she shouted back.
Well, there’s food for thought. Are some things too trivial to pray for? Should we bother God with our pettiest concerns? As I try to think of prayers about trivial subjects that are recorded in scripture, I draw a blank. Hannah prayed for a child, not a dry diaper in the morning. Many people pray for healing. Some of the Psalms are prayers for the destruction of the unrighteous or for victories over their enemies. But does the Bible give us a record of someone praying to win a race or catch a fish? Jesus, it is true, told the disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the boat and they caught a huge mess of fish. But we have no indication that the fishermen/disciples prayed for a good catch.
This raises a long time family argument: When we go fishing, my daughters and wife pray that we catch fish. I don’t—though I’m sure my desire to catch fish is far greater than theirs. If our lives depended on the catching of fish, I would pray to catch fish. But all I’m really asking for as a sport fisherman, is a few moments of pleasure and a trophy that will give me bragging rights for a season. But because there are so many significant things to pray for, it seems sort of self-indulgent to pray that I catch fish.
But back to the evidence of scripture. Perhaps one could argue that history is mainly about Kings and Generals, scripture only records big events, and therefore we can’t really say that just because scripture contains no examples of prayers about relatively unimportant things, people of that time did not go to God with such things. On the other hand, the Hebrew concept of Jahweh was of someone so awesome, so fearful, that they could not even say his name. That might just indicate that they would not feel right about asking him for a puppy or naturally curly hair.
The young woman I heard on the track might argue, I suppose, that her prayers for help in potty-training indicate she has a grander concept of God than someone who refuses to bother God with such pettiness. She might say, “My God is so great that he can handle the smallest request with ease and because he so loves his creatures, his majesty is not offended by my ‘trivial’ request. Why he marks the fall of the sparrow!”
Perhaps that’s what it comes down to—one’s concept of God. You might be cautious about your petitions if your image of God is the great Creator who roars through the book of Job—“Who is this who darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” But if your dominant perception of God is the tender Shepherd or the father who runs to embrace his prodigal son, well, then you might go to him for help in potty-training your child.
But God is both—tender shepherd and roaring creator, so while our concept of God may influence the kind of petitions we come to him with, it doesn’t answer my question: Are some petitions too trivial or self-indulgent to bring to God? The best answer I can give is this: If we approach the throne of God with humility, reverence and awe, then the significance of our petition is probably irrelevant.
Oh, and one more thing. While the Bible does not say the Lord helps those who help themselves, the Lord does give most of us the wit and strength and patience that enable us to successfully potty-train a child.
And also, perhaps, the discipline and wisdom to get out of bed and exercise to maintain our health, for though we cannot add cubits to our stature, we may prevent shrinkage.
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