The Power Of Giving Up Control

A few days ago, I was walking to the lunchroom and ran into a coworker that I hadn't seen in a while. We did the cursory "hey how you doing," and kept walking. Then he stopped and looked back at me and said, "Christy, I want to share a story with if you have a quick moment."

As background, my coworker is a new believer. He recently came to know Christ, so anytime I see him, I'm always excited to hear any new revelations. It's so beautiful to see people on their journey of following Christ.

He said, "I want to tell you a story about my girlfriend's daughter." The daughter and her spouse have a two-year-old child, but they have been praying to have another child, to no avail. She was finding herself getting very frustrated with God for not answering this prayer. At some point in her prayer journey she said: "you know what God, clearly the way I am praying this prayer is not working and instead of me asking you for what I want, I want to have what you want. So, if it is your desire, God, for us to have another child, then let it be. But if your desire is not for us to have another child, then that is your will as well, but help us be okay with it".

I was getting goosebumps as I listened to his story because I felt like there had to be an excellent ending to this. As it turned out, she was also a new believer and chose to get baptized. She and her spouse conceived their second child on the same night as her baptism.

What an incredible story!

I knew I had to share this story with you not just because it had a great ending, but also because it has a great lesson.

The turning point in their story was when her prayer shifted..."God, no longer my will yours." As I think about the things I pray for, I don't always pray from a position of "God's will."

Yes. I am praying to God to make it happen, but am I praying in such a way that genuinely gives the power of what happens to God? Am I genuinely giving the situation to God?

That's my challenge to you. Think about the things you are praying for in your life right now. Are you praying in such a way that your prayers line up with God's desires? Are you praying for God's will to be done or just yours?