Anonymous Asks (346)

“Does God really care about the little things that trouble us?”

Last night was prayer meeting, and I sat listening to others pray, thinking about corporate prayer and what it means to the Lord. One after another, men stood up and took their concerns to their Father in heaven: a full-time worker struggling with health issues; the preparations for this summer’s camp work; the regular meetings of the congregation; a father, brother and grandmother who do not know Christ; a family with its head under church discipline. All the ordinary concerns of a local church had their moments, and we said our amens as others expressed them.

But I couldn’t help thinking about all the things we were not requesting.

What Gets Left Out

I guarantee there are believers in our meeting who did not express any of the concerns that troubled them most. I know, because I was one of them. The reasons for holding back varied. Some stories are not ours to tell. Some requests might change the way we are viewed by our brothers and sisters in ways we cannot control. Christians who suffer from depression may feel this sort of reserve about sharing. Some concerns might seem too trivial to air in a gathering of the saints. Some are simply inappropriate for corporate prayer, because others are not able to enter into them. In some cases, we are grieved by a particular turn of events, but are perplexed about what we should ask for. Prayer for older, sick believers falls into this category. Are we so sure it is not the Lord’s time to relieve them of their earthly burdens and take them home? If they could hear us praying earnestly for their recovery from their most recent affliction, would they be able to say amen, or would they quietly say, “Thank you, Lord, but please — no more”?

So we stay silent. In many cases, our silence is appropriate. Some requests are better kept personal. Others, less so.

Important and … Unimportant?

Aside from their appropriateness for public consumption, we must acknowledge — if we are honest — that not all our prayer concerns are equally important. “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth” is in a different category from even my beloved brother’s cancer surgery, let alone my troubled cat’s emotions after an unexpected move. We often speak disparagingly of “First World problems”, things that in any other culture would be considered so comparatively trivial that they would be laughed away. In the middle of a war, nobody fusses about receiving a mean-spirited comment on social media. When, like Job, you have just lost ten children, even the incineration of seven thousand sheep and the servants caring for them tends to pale. How much more the approbation and un-wisdom of your wife (“curse God and die”), though it’s glaring evidence of a low spiritual state that in good times would have any righteous, loving husband on his knees?

Some prayer concerns really are more trivial than others. Let’s be real about that.

Intellects and Emotions

At the same time, our intellects and emotions are not always on the same page about such things. A believing child may pray for a puppy with all the earnestness and commitment of her father, who is upstairs on his knees beseeching the Lord to meet the financial needs of his struggling family. For all her lack of perspective about the importance of her request, the child may actually pray with greater commitment, sincerity ... and faith ... than her dad, though the health, growth and survival of his beloved children is manifestly more important than her immediate acquisition of a pet. Have you seen God answer such prayers? I have.

So does our Father care about the so-called “small things”? Of course he does. He does not number the hairs on your head for his own amusement or to prove to the universe how smart he is. He does not observe the falling of sparrows with clinical detachment. Jesus did not cite these examples merely to demonstrate the Father’s intelligence or omniscience, or to showcase the level of detail with which his mind operates. He shared them with his disciples to reassure them of their Father’s love and willingness to meet their daily needs.

Should we ask about such things? Of course we should. Just maybe not in prayer meeting, unless you are prepared to pray for a very, very long time.