{"id":2750,"date":"2016-02-29T13:31:39","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T18:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/?p=2750"},"modified":"2016-02-29T13:31:39","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T18:31:39","slug":"a-prayer-for-the-means-not-the-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2016\/02\/a-prayer-for-the-means-not-the-end.html","title":{"rendered":"A Prayer for the Means, not the End"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDelight yourselves in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.\u201d \u00a0 (Psalm 37:4)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Our assignment is simple: celebrate God! The rest follows. The big objective we seek is deep change \u201cfor good\u201d and a paradigm shift in worldview \u2013 seeing prayer as the way we live, akin to breathing.<\/p>\n

The Psalmist dares me to shift my focus away from the my needs\u00a0and instead move my attention to GOD alone, then, with gratitude and anticipation, I will suddenly discover the very outcome I seek.<\/p>\n

Dallas Willard calls this principle \u201cspiritual indirection.\u201d Instead of trying to break nasty habits, I instead lean in to develop a substitute virtue. Once the good is in place it drowns out the vice, as a little candle light banishes darkness. I say \u201cyes\u201d to a new good thing which on its own shouts \u201cno\u201d to my besetting sin.<\/p>\n

In the same way, when I \u201cdelight\u201d in God \u2013 focus my eye on seeing the good he is doing all around me \u2013 the miracle outcome I pray for comes right behind. Another angle: If I seek to relate to God face to face, his hands of action go to work on my behalf without my \u201chelp\u201d. The best in life comes to fruition only when I stop trying to make things happen.<\/p>\n

Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am holding my request loosely. My eyes are upward, and I am consciously grateful for his goodness! THIS is what the psalmist means by \u201cdelight.\u201d It is here in this place where his hands work for me when I\u2019m not looking, when I least expect it. Here, he \u201cgives me the desire of my heart,\u201d which seems to be both the object I desire but also the refined and sanctified desire itself. That is, he changes my heart in the matter. In Jesus\u2019 words, when I \u201chunger and thirst for righteousness,\u201d I am filled.<\/p>\n

Response<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lord, my part, is to delight in you. I want to learn what this means. Teach me. Teach me the courage to express my gratitude and to celebrate like a lottery winner. As I wait for you, you generate the outcome you promise. I have asked; today I move immediately to thankfulness. Thank you for responding, even before that outcome arrives for me; I am thanking you ahead of my timeline! I speak this routinely, but this principle really is the whole objective of prayer: Relationship alone matters, and all else follows from this, and it will follow when I set my eye on the means and not the end! Give me grace to look in the proper direction today!<\/em><\/p>\n

Through the day and beyond<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today I am seeking reasons to thank God ahead of time. This is my focus and the object of my search. I put aside my desire and look for where he focuses his desire. When I stop looking for my hope to appear, in a moment I least expect, I will find him delivering his best to me!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cDelight yourselves in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.\u201d \u00a0 (Psalm 37:4) Our assignment is simple: celebrate God! The rest follows. The big objective we seek is deep change \u201cfor good\u201d and a paradigm shift in worldview \u2013 seeing prayer as the way we live, akin to breathing. The…<\/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],"tags":[354,1565,1622,117],"class_list":["post-2750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-bible-prayer","category-daily-prayer","category-god","category-jesus","category-prayer","tag-answered-prayer-2","tag-delight-in-god","tag-desires-of-heart","tag-prayer-3"],"yoast_head":"\nA Prayer for the Means, not the End<\/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\/2016\/02\/a-prayer-for-the-means-not-the-end.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Prayer for the Means, not the End\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cDelight yourselves in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.\u201d \u00a0 (Psalm 37:4) Our assignment is simple: celebrate God! 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