The other day I was arguing with God. Now before you string me up by my thumbs (which are rather short to begin with), hiss at me for being a heretic, and go on a Salem Blog Hunt, let me explain.
At the recommendation of some readers, I was reading the Psalms. Psalm 30:8-9 says,
To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?”
Well what do you know, David argued with God too. He’s pleading for mercy, yes, but there’s an argument hidden in these words too. Do you see it? David argues, What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? David is reasoning with God, giving God reason after to answer his prayer.
There’s a reason David’s argument is recorded in scripture: God wants us to argue as well. But we need to be careful here. There’s a way to argue with God that’s wicked, and there’s a way to argue that glorifies God. When we bring accusation and bitterness against God, that’s wicked. When we bitterly say to God, “I don’t deserve this!”, God doesn’t listen. But when we argue the glory of God, like David did, God is pleased.
David’s argument goes like this: God, if I die, I won’t be able to praise you and tell of your faithfulness. If you don’t answer my prayer, I won’t be able to praise you. So for your own glory, please answer my prayer. We should pray like David.
- “Lord, if you don’t save my daughter, she won’t live a life for your glory. Please save her for your glory!”
- “Father, if you don’t give me patience with my children I’ll sin against them in anger. Please help me glorify you by being patient.”
- “Lord, if you don’t give me courage to share the gospel I’ll never speak up. For your glory, give me courage.”
My good friend Ian was in a car accident over a year ago. He’s still is in a wheelchair and can’t yet speak. But I was filled with faith when I prayed for Ian. I prayed, “Lord, if you don’t heal Ian, he can’t sing and speak your praises. For your glory, please heal Ian.”
Do you argue with God when you pray? Do you pray that God would answer your prayers for his glory? Let’s be like David. Let’s argue with God for his glory.
Thanks for your insight in this post, Stephen. I need to do more arguing with God.
We looked at Habakkuk 1 in bible study last Sunday. Its is unlike most other prophet exchanges in which God has a message, the prophet preaches. Here Habakkuk has a Q&A session with God.
Why do you allow this evil to exist?
Why do you raise up evil nations?
How can you use an evil nation as a rod of discipline against your people?
This isn’t some post-modern, reject truth, question God type of thing. This is an honest conversation with the Father.
If most would analyze their prayers, they would look like shopping lists or therapy sessions. We throw some praise in to keep the Christian karma flowing (yes, thats a snide bit of sarcasm, I don’t need blog flogged either!) Prayer is to be conversation with our Father.
Great post, Stephen
Steve S – Glad it was helpful. I too need to argue more for God’s glory in my prayers.
Stephen Feather – Yeah you’re right, sometimes our prayers just look like us telling God all the things we need or we want. In the Lord’s prayer we see that our first priority is to be God’s glory. And you’re right, the thing you see in scripture is that the Psalmists and the prophets often had honest, humble conversations with God. Good point…
thats a good article… To make a deal with god so to speak. when i hear my mum pray, Its a whole hour of lists of what she wants.. but she always misses the Gods glory part. I think.. if we focus on praising him rather than ourselves.. eveerything will work out perfectly
Stephen,
You are in good company! My prayer life was transformed many years ago when my pastor sent me to Spurgeon’s little work on “Effective Prayer”, in which he tells us how to argue with God. It is available online here:
http://www.kjvuser.com/ep/
May the Lord be pleased with our arguments!
Stephen,
Good article; it hit the point of something that I’ve been giving a lot of thought to lately – prayer and answers. One of these days I’ll get my thoughts together into an article.
Anyway, your point is excellent – the glory of God and His kingdom must be first in our prayers, and boy do I have a long way to go with that. David’s prayer here and in other Psalms is spot on, and from what I read in other places he fulfilled his vow or purpose – he did indeed spend much time exalting God.
But what has been tugging at my mind is the question – what about when I pray for what I, to the best of my fallen ability, mean to be for God’s glory, and the answer is not what I was looking for. Your first bullet, for example – certainly I pray daily for my children to be saved, but that may not end up being the case.
Or as I was reading in Romans 15:30-32 the other day. Paul really wanted to be delivered from his enemies in Jerusalem and come to Rome in peace, undoubtedly for God’s greater glory. Didn’t happen.
So I’m trying to fit all that together in my mind, ultimately resting in a Father who does all things well.
Joanna – There’s a tricky line to walk. God obviously wants us to bring our requests to him. We’re commanded to do that in scripture. But we also need to seek God’s glory above everything else. When we do that the rest seems to fall into place.
Chris in NM – Ahh Spurgeon, how I love that old guy. Thanks for the link.
Daniel – Wow, good question. Not sure if I can give you an adequate answer. I think we need to pray what we believe to be for God’s glory, and then like you were saying, rest in God. I believe that it’s God’s will to heal my friend Ian. But ultimately God knows what will bring him the most glory. I guess I’ll have to rest in that, knowing that all that He does is good. Good point…
I think we need to take Jesus’ prayers into consideration also. He asked that He wouldn’t have to go through going to the cross but he also prayed that if it’s His will, He’ll (Jesus) will do it.
If we were praying the same prayer, would we say, “How can me dying on a cross glorify you? I won’t be around anymore to do anything for you.” But then look at what happened.
Same with Paul asking for the thorn to be taken away. How could a hindrance like that glorify God? How could God preventing him from preaching to certain areas glorify Him?
I don’t think we can dictate what we think will be glorifying to God.
I like this:
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
Psalms 62:8
It looks like David is arguing for his people and for the promise of God that David would build His temple. As John Gill says, “nor is there any profit in it to the Lord himself; which seems to be what is chiefly designed, since it is used by the psalmist as an argument with him in prayer, that he might not be left by him, and to his enemies, so as to perish, since no glory could accrue to God by it from them; they would not give him thanks for it, but ascribe it to themselves, and say their own hand had done it; so far, the psalmist suggests, would his death be from being profitable to God, that it would rather be a loss to the interest of religion; since he had not as yet fully restored religion, and settled the pure worship of God in order, and made the preparations for the building the house of God he intended. God may be glorified in the death of his people; either by their dying in the faith of interest in him; or by suffering death for his name’s sake; but, in a strict sense, there is nothing either in life or death in which man can be profitable unto God; see Job 22:2; some understand this of life; because the life is in the blood: as if the sense was, of what advantage is life to me? it would have been better for the if I had never been born, had had no life and being at all, if I must for ever be banished from thy presence, and go down to the pit of hell, which they suppose is designed in the following phrase;
when I go down to the pit; though the grave seems rather to be meant, and the former sense is best;”
Thanks for raising the issue of arguing for God’s glory. Perhaps I should try this, though God knows my motives better than me and if I try to argue for His glory, He’ll know that ulterior motives are likely mixed in. Hopefully He can tune my heart to hope for His glory over the potentially sinfully-tainted or ‘other’ motives.
Can I ask one question? Is it possible that any of the prayers in the Psalms might be sinfully tainted since they’re said by humans? I’m just wondering. Is it okay to mimic the spirit of them in entirety if we wanted?
P.S. Never mind about my question. I read parts of the link (to Spurgeon’s Effective Prayer) that another commenter provided and in that Spurgeon mentioned what Moses said in Numbers 14:15-16.
If you look at vs. 17 it says “please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised…..”
So even in Moses’ request is the desire for the power of the Lord to be great…
It must be okay to argue for God’s glory…hmmm.
Anyway thank you and nevermind about my questions in my previous comment!
Thank you for clarifying this topic!
I’ve been wanting to argue with God about getting into graduate school the past few weeks, but felt tentative if I had to right to do so.
If I get in, then I can quit my job to goto missions in South Africa, then start school 3 weeks after I return.
But if I don’t get into school, then I can’t take time off for missions.
Time for me to start arguing away!!