{"id":2501,"date":"2015-10-20T13:17:47","date_gmt":"2015-10-20T17:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/?p=2501"},"modified":"2015-10-20T13:17:47","modified_gmt":"2015-10-20T17:17:47","slug":"praying-with-right-motives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2015\/10\/praying-with-right-motives.html","title":{"rendered":"Praying With Right Motives"},"content":{"rendered":"

And even when you ask, you don\u2019t get it because your motives are all wrong\u2014you want only what will give you pleasure. (James 4:3)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When I read texts like this one, I perk up. If there’s one thing I desire in this world, it is that my prayers be answered. Afterall, some of my requests are issues of life and death! James gives us a caveat to answered prayer \u2013 our motives. When I pray for my children, for example, am I praying that they will behave well so that they will reflect well on me? If that is my motivation, then I can forget about it. God sees through that self-centered motive. He ignores the prayer of the narcissist.<\/p>\n

Father,<\/em><\/p>\n

Examine me and rid my soul of self-seeking in my life and in my prayers. I ask you to forgive me and cleanse me from tendencies toward this evil. You oppose the proud but give grace to the humble. I receive your forgiveness and your cleansing from all egotistical ways, particularly in my prayers. May I never seek what is best for ME, rather may I seek what is best for You, for others, and for Your Kingdom.<\/em><\/p>\n

Amen<\/em><\/p>\n

Just for fun… “The Prayer of the Selfish Child” by Shel Silverstein…<\/p>\n

Now I lay me down to sleep,<\/p>\n

I pray the Lord my soul to keep,<\/p>\n

And if I die before I wake,<\/p>\n

I pray the Lord my toys to break.<\/p>\n

So none of the other kids can use \u2019em. . . .<\/p>\n

Amen.<\/p>\n

~Shel Silverstein<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And even when you ask, you don\u2019t get it because your motives are all wrong\u2014you want only what will give you pleasure. (James 4:3) When I read texts like this one, I perk up. If there’s one thing I desire in this world, it is that my prayers be answered. Afterall, some of my requests…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,7,4,25,3,1],"tags":[354,1417,1419,1418,1420],"class_list":["post-2501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-bible-prayer","category-daily-prayer","category-god","category-jesus","category-prayer","category-uncategorized","tag-answered-prayer-2","tag-narcissim","tag-prayer-of-the-selfish-child","tag-selfishness","tag-shel-silverstein"],"yoast_head":"\nPraying With Right Motives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2015\/10\/praying-with-right-motives.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Praying With Right Motives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"And even when you ask, you don\u2019t get it because your motives are all wrong\u2014you want only what will give you pleasure. 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