Is there such a thing as an unfair prayer?

Is there such a thing as an “unfair” prayer?

I was grappling with this concept recently. I mean can I really pray to be protected and unchanged by situations in my life I have to deal with by default?

Situations impact us and inevitably change us, don’t they?

Who am I to ask God to do such a thing? Is it even fair? And it came to me, an “unfair prayer” (meaning a prayer that feels unfair or even unrealistic to me) is better than an unprayed prayer.

God wants our honesty and He wants us to speak to Him sincerely in prayer even if the prayer is full of questions.

Then the theme of Ecclesiastes rang out to me, the seasons of life, a time to do things.

A time to laugh and a time to cry.

Then the anguish I felt was reframed into reality so clearly.

There are times in life and seasons where we endure hardships and brokenness.

While in the middle, we don’t see clearly. We are tossed and turned and yet we survive, changed.

And then we experience healing and peace.

How much more do we appreciate those things when we know what it is to lack them!

Maybe these challenges are meant to be lived with anticipation of strength and divine healing. So then, once we overcome we can appreciate.

The closeness of a bond once strained. The joy of fellowship once missed. The embrace once longed for. The words once left unsaid. The memories of laughter and anticipation that replace quietness and dread. The dream that became a reality.

How many times do we go through these cycles?  Yet we forget joy while in pain. We take for granted trials when we live in triumph.

But what if all of these worked together for something greater?

What if the moment of pain is fleeting as the one of joy?

How much better could we endure it with that mindset?

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

‭— Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬-‭5

“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”

— Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

‭‭ — Psalms‬ ‭30‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

‭‭ — Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬, ‭4‬-‭5‬, ‭7‬, ‭11‬ ‭