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How could this Cat prayer be changed to focus on God's glory?
"Lord, I've given up so much to serve as a Pastor, you know how much I wanted to passionately proclaim your Word! I've given several years to the people here and they just don't seem to "get it". I'm out late, have to be at church early to open up, my wife feels like she's living in the proverbial fish bowl, my kids are always looked at with criticism... this isn't what I expected life in the ministry to be like. I could have had a regular job like everybody else.... I would enjoy my weekends off... and I wouldn't mind a merit-based raise without having to go through 3 committees and an inquisition to get one! Lord, would you let me move on to somewhere I'm appreciated more... or let me go back to the normal workforce?"
Here's what we think:
Dog Prayer: Lord, while I gave up a lot of worldly things to do ministry, it was nothing when I compare what you gave up to come here to Earth where the very ones you loved seemed to despise you. Would you use my circumstances to help me relate to you? -- Would you help me to understand your heart and show it to those I'm serving. The temptation to go elsewhere is always present, but my desire is to please you with every day you give me. Give me a heart like yours - so I desire to "feed your sheep". If you don't move me from here, give me wisdom and a gentle boldness to guide my family through the difficult times so they can cope with it without resentment.
Our Analysis
The first prayer may be something too many pastors can empathize with and to them this is truly a passionate prayer. But a passionate prayer isn't the same as a powerful prayer. The first prayer focuses on the person praying and the heartaches & troubled times they are experiencing... but the prayer is for themselves. The second prayer seeks to learn from the difficulty and hopes to use it to relate to what God Himself experienced. In doing that, there is a heart-felt desire to be content, to rely on God and to desire what God desires. Naturally, it involves a prayer for the family too, but it's centered on how the family can display a godly character rather than rebelling against the church, the people or God Himself.
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