There is a popular belief today that if you really want something and pray about it, you will receive what you ask for. After all, people reason, didn’t Jesus say, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.†(John 14:14)?
Here are some of the unusual prayer requests that we have received at Guidelines:
• A women asked us to pray that her husband would find a “permanent mistress†so he would not be attracted to prostitutes and contract a sexually transmitted disease.
• A man asked to pray that his girlfriend, who is married to another man and has a family, would divorce her husband so he could marry her.
• A woman with a floral business requested that we pray for more people to die so she could sell more floral wreaths to the mortician.
You may see the ludicrous in those requests, but there would be nothing funny about the absolute chaos that would result from God giving us everything we ask for.
Prayer is powerful and God does answer the earnest prayer of a man who has been justified in His sight. A generation ago John Rice entitled his book on prayer Asking and Receiving. In this book he explains that as God’s children, we can knock on heaven’s door with our petitions, and He bountifully showers His grace and goodness upon us. While we have this privilege of coming to God, we can also thank Him that He loves us too much to give us what we may foolishly and selfishly ask for.
Used with permission from Guidelines Philippines, Inc. To learn more about Guidelines and the ministry, please write to Box 4000, 1280 Makati City, Philippines or e-mail address box4000@guidelines.org. You may also visit our website at www.guidelines.org.