Yancey on Prayer 3

So I've been reading a lot but not blogging about Yancey's book on Prayer. While everything I've read has been great, there's one thought that has stood out to me thus far. Here's the line:

"The real value of persistent prayer is not so much that we get what we want as that we become the person we should be."

I know a woman who has wrestled for some time with what God is doing in her life. She's suffered tragedy in which she never sensed God's protective or comforting presence, and that has led to serious doubt as to whether God actually cares. She prays but the pain never relents, it just digs deeper and deeper.

I think the line above from Yancey's book applies to all of us in some way, but especially to folks like this woman. The purpose of prayer should not be for us to get what we want, as though God is the cosmic Santa Claus making His list. Instead prayer ought to be approached with a desire to see our circumstances through the eyes of God and adjust our lives accordingly. There's really no sense in praying for God to act, work, and move in our lives if we're not willing to conform to the world as He sees it.

Perhaps this means we ought to take more seriously Jesus' prayer, "Not my my will but yours be done," regardless of our circumstance. This will only enhance our relationship with God because our desire is to know as He knows, not to force His hand to act according to our wishes.