A Prayer
So, I read this prayer this morning on another blog. And, I immediately began to wonder if I was brave enough and if I trusted God enough to pray it for myself.
Sovereign God, everything we have belongs to you. May we use what we have to bless others and woo people into the Kingdom, rather than for our own comfort and ease. Bless us so that we may bless others. If we do not bless others, take our resources from us and give them to those who will bless others.
(HT: Jim)
Hi Alan,
It’s been a while since I’ve commented here but I’m still hanging out here! I’ve even linked to a few of your previous posts in the past few days.
I’m agreeable with the heart of this prayer, in the sense that we truly want to bless others just as we’ve been blessed. But the very last sentence… just doesn’t sound like my Daddy!
Several scriptures come to mind, but this one is in the forefront:
“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” (2 Cor 9:7-8)
My thought is that in Christ, our Father’s blessings toward us are not conditional. That is, they’re not contingent upon whether or not we use His blessings to bless others, but rather His blessings are contingent upon the fact that He is a wonderful Father who loves to bless His kids!
Instead of asking Him to take away the things He has blessed us with if we don’t bless others, perhaps we should ask Him to help us to more fully understand and appreciate His goodness so that we increasingly have a heart that is more like His!
Freely we’ve received, so let’s freely give, not out of compulsion. 🙂
Joel,
Thanks for the comment. I’ve been keeping up with your posts about the church and the comments. You have a great conversation going on there. I did not intend for this “prayer” to represent my understanding of God. Instead, the prayer made my questions my relationship with the blessings that God gives me. I agree completely that God does not give to us in order to manipulate us toward good deeds.
-Alan
Hi again,
Yep indeed, I think the prayer is great food for thought in regards to thinking about God and His blessings, and our blessing others.
As you could tell, I was turned off by the last sentence of the prayer because I believe that the way God motivates us to be graceful towards others is by lavishing us with His own grace, not by withholding it from us… but yet I do really think the heart of the prayer is a great reminder for us to not simply sit on our blessings but pass them along and bless others with them for the sake of the Kingdom.