Is it Okay for Christians to Ask God for Good in Prayer?

　　It is okay to ask God to protect us. We don’t want to fall when we go out for a walk in the winter and there’s been a snowfall or some ice has formed. We don’t want to slip on a dry, steep, graveling hiking trail and wind up with bloody knees and elbows.

　　We’d rather not contend with disease, traffic accidents, and injuries, so sometimes we ask, “Lord, protect me, please.” Is it okay to ask for such a seemingly trivial thing? Is our prayer life healthy?

God’s Promised Protection

　　“No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord” (Isaiah 54:17).

　　God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

　　It is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6).

　　The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore (Psalm 121:7-8).

　　These verses and others have been interpreted by some believers as meaning that God will not let bad things happen to them as long as they ask for protection.

　　He knows what we do at all times, and the potential dangers that surround us, so we might imagine that he uses his omniscience to quietly move us out of the way of danger or redirect a speeding car/rabid dog/careening hot dog cart out of our way.

　　But the fact is we are going to get hurt. Take a look at your life since becoming a Christian. I’m going to guess that a few things have happened — a diagnosis, car accident, or sporting injury. Someone hurt you by spreading gossip, rejecting you, or abusing your trust.

　　What about God’s promised protection? What about “you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment” when you were falsely accused of theft at work? What about “He will not leave you or forsake you” when you broke your ankle playing volleyball?

　　For that matter, what about Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me — nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). We need to understand the nature and purpose of God’s protection.

What God Protects

　　He cared about what Jesus was going to endure, and he urges us to turn and ask for whatever is on our hearts. “For everyone who asks receives” (Matthew 7:8).

　　Still, read the Psalms, and you’ll see how often the Psalmist cried out because he felt like God wasn’t listening to his prayers or meeting his needs.

　　The Lord sees, and he cares, but he does not automatically give our prayers the green light, not even when we ask him to. “In this world you will have trouble,” Jesus promised (John 16:33).

　　While he has also overcome the world, the point is you cannot avoid trouble just because you love Jesus. And you cannot expect to receive everything you want, even good or reasonable things.

　　As those who follow Jesus, we must remember that He leads us along the path to Calvary, carrying a cross as he did, except not to the end he endured for our sakes, bearing the weight of the world’s sins past, present, and future.

　　Just to the end of ourselves, to the place where we realize (ideally) that we aren’t strong enough; we can’t find what it takes to get through hard times by reaching deep inside of ourselves. We cannot expect all of our dreams to come true either, no matter how painful the longing is.

　　We need to look to Jesus and believe that He meets every need just by being who he is: a constant presence in our lives, real and tender and personal and powerful. As we grow in Christ, we might even reach the point where he’s all we want.

　　Is there anything wrong with asking? No. Is there anything wrong with being sad, even distraught, when our prayers are met with “no” or “wait”?

　　Nothing is wrong with these prayers until we notice, as time goes on, that they have become gods of their own, set on an altar, and we have devoted a lot of energy to lamenting our situation.

　　The Father protects the Spirit that turns to him from annihilation but not from suffering. “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

　　We will see Jesus face-to-face one day, at the end of these days here on mortal, dirty, broken earth. We will not carry agony into the Kingdom of God.

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What He Will Produce

　　There is an order to this — call first, then experience his salvation which is the end of permanent separation from him, from destruction, from despair. Salvation is an eternally restored relationship with God.

　　An unbeliever doesn’t see this eternal reality because it isn’t like a physical safety net, but the Lord’s protection is still real, effective, and significant. What does it look like in the life of a believer? God has left certain marks.

　　They are visible signs of spiritual fruit which encourage other Christians and also remind us of how much we have grown spiritually. Those who have not invited Jesus to be their Savior and Lord (yet) notice that something is different about his people.

　　Signs of spiritual growth are apparent in what we ask God for and the way we ask. Our prayer lives are a clue to us and potentially to observers who are confused about God’s protection and what it looks like.

　　A fruitful prayer life reflects the reality of Christ in a person’s whole life, even in times of trouble. Fruitful prayer is:

　　HonestGod-centeredExpectantHumbleSome Christians have this idea that you just have to name it and claim it, including the cure to a disease or protection against accidents.

　　If we only ask, we will receive full provision of all that we want, even if it isn’t gospel-centered; even if our request is more of a demand; even if we act like we’re entitled to receive what we ask for because we prayed hard. We fasted. We read our Bibles more. Surely that’s enough, God?

　　But a fruitful prayer life starts and ends with the Lord. It starts with the Lord’s fame (Matthew 6). It involves the humility to ask God what is on his heart and to shape our hearts to be more like his rather than asking God’s heart to be shaped around our longings.

　　Psalm 37:4 is a request for a new heart; for fresh delights. And then, when our delights line up with His, God will give them to us because they are already provided for.

　　A fruitful prayer life acknowledges what already is true about God’s provision, what a friend of mine always calls the “now and not yet” of our faith.

　　We are expectant and triumphant in prayer, knowing that the Lord has already won the battle over sin, we are forgiven, and sin is being defeated in us as we grow in Christ. “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15).

　　In a sense, our prayer life is about asking to be certain of what is already true. When we start here in prayer — with what Christ has accomplished — then we can pray for everything else that is on our hearts with confidence, trusting God regardless of the answer.

Help Us to Ask Wisely

　　When I’m not sure what to pray for, sometimes I turn to Jesus in the garden or to the Lord’s Prayer because these were Jesus’ prayers.

　　I love the idea of repeating Jesus’ prayers, of loving the Father like Jesus loved the Father, or praying more effectively as an intercessor the way He is an intercessor; and of having a heart that simply yearns for whatever is important to the Lord.

　　I want it to be more natural to pray in submission, with joy. My longings and your longings are changing as part of Christ’s ongoing process of sanctification.

　　For further reading:

　　Is it Okay to Pray for Good News?

　　Is it Okay to Pray for Happiness?

　　Is it Biblical to Find Happiness?

　　3 Things to Do When Jesus Appears Silent in Prayer