By Joe McKeever
Dear Lord, even if I pray in faith and dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s, but am praying something which I will regret forever and which is not what You have planned, please ignore me. Thank you for hearing this prayer!
Three men in the Bible–really godly men, the best of the bunch–prayed at one time or other for the Lord to end their lives.
–Moses in Numbers 11:15 “If I’ve found favor in Thy sight, please kill me.”
–Elijah in I Kings 19:4 “That’s enough now, Lord. Take my life. I’m no better than my fathers (and they’re all dead).” My paraphrase.
–Jonah in Jonah 4:3 “Death is better to me than life, so please take my life from me, O Lord.”
In each case, it was a prayer of depression and discouragement. And what caused that? They were brought on by–
–too much responsibility (Moses). He was tired.
–too much opposition (Elijah). He was stressed.
–too little commitment (Jonah). He was disappointed.
From this we conclude the following:
One. It can happen to the best.
Two. It’s the result of too much work, stress, spiritual resources and strength.
Three. In such times, we may do unwise things and pray foolish prayers.
Four. We should give thanks God does not answer all our prayers.
Five. Let us praise a loving, wise God who gives us–
–not what we ask for but what we need.
–not what we want, but what He wills.
–not what pleases us for the moment but what we will appreciate forever.
“God is too wise to be mistaken, too good to be unkind. When you don’t understand, when you don’t see His plan, when you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.”
Joe McKeever is a retired pastor and a past director of the New Orleans Baptist Association.
