Tonight as a family, we will be watching a Netflix DVD from way back. We will be watching Fantasy Island. Oh to hear the words again, "de plane, de plane!" and "Welcome to Fantasy Island!" I can't wait as this show captivated me when I was growing up. But, let me ask what captivates us today? I believe what captivates us is the same thing that captivated those characters of Fantasy Island and caused them to seek out their life's fantasy. Ultimately what captivates us is ourselves. When people suggest to me that they are not self-centered, I like to ask them "Who is the main character of their fantasies and dreams? Are their fantasies and dreams about themselves or about elevating other people?
As Christians I'd like to ask us a similar question. Who is the main character of our prayers? Is it each of us or is it God? Would it be accurate to suggest that the main character of our prayers is the one who captivates us most and is the main focus of our lives? If the main character of our prayers is ourselves which is often evidenced in our laundry list of prayer requests, then the main character of our lives would be ourselves. But, if the main character of our prayers is God and God's glory, then God would be the main subject of our prayers because God is the one who captivates our hearts.
It is easy to pray for ourselves; and God encourages each of us to pray for our daily bread and about our anxious issues of life. But ultimately and most appropriately our heart and affection should focused upon God's glory. When our prayers are focused upon ourselves we tend to become more preoccupied with our comfort and security over and above Christ's glory.
Notice Jesus' example of praying. In his darkest hour of tremendous turmoil, when faced with the brutality of crucifixion and worse yet, the bearing of all humanity's sin, he prayed for himself, yet ended with a prayer for God's glory. He prayed, "Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. yet now what I will, but what you will."
Often times when we pray, it is because of awful and anxious things that confront us. It is easy to pray for ourselves, but let me encourage us, including myself, to pray for God's will and God's glory, for He alone deserves our praise and the preoccupation of our prayers. Jesus said, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and all his righteousness..." Psalm 37:4 tells us "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." This is what Jesus did and it enabled him to endure the crucifixion and worse yet the weight of all our sin. Perhaps, as we keep Christ the focus and main character of our prayers, we will be able to endure all things and bring God glory in everything. Maybe God will prove himself as greater than all of our fantasies.
Who is the main character of your's and my prayers?
Beams Away!
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