Asking for Others

While I was away canvassing, one of my friends shared some powerful thoughts. She explored the context of Luke 11:9, a familiar verse: “Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Luke 11:9) 

From the beginning of the chapter, Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray. He presents the Lord’s Prayer, and then tells a story to illustrate. There was a man who had a guest arrive at midnight one night. The man was ashamed to find he had no food to feed the traveler, so he went to His neighbour and asked to borrow three loaves of bread. The neighbour wasn’t impressed, and made excuses: It's late! I’m in bed! But, Jesus said, because of the man’s persistence the neighbour got up and gave him the bread, and he was able to feed his visitor. It’s then Jesus says ask, seek, and knock. Because, He concludes, if we’re willing to give each other good gifts, how much more will God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.

I’ve always seen that story as a lesson in persistent prayer – which it is – but my friend brought out something else: the man in Jesus’ example wasn’t asking for himself. He was begging for sustenance, but it was so He could give it away. 

I decided to try it out this principle of prayer. When I’m canvassing, I pray for others, but I mostly pray for myself. I pray God will give me opportunities, and that I’ll have wisdom, discernment, courage, and what it takes to represent Him. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I decided to go one day not praying for myself at all. I made it my mission to plead for one of my friends who was also canvassing. Every time I wanted to pray for myself, I sent up a prayer for her instead.

At the end of day, my friend told me it was one of her best days! She had some great experiences, and was able to share with lots of people. It was so exciting, because God answered my prayers, and worked mightily for her.

But what surprised me about the whole ‘experiment’ was how I felt. God gave me everything I would’ve asked Him for, and more, because I was able to share more any other day. The best part, though, was my attitude. I didn’t have time to dwell on my inadequacies, even in prayer, because I was asking for someone else. I was enthusiastic the whole day, because I didn’t have thought space to get discouraged. If a negative feeling came into my mind, my response was to pray about it – but then because I wasn’t praying for myself, it turned into prayer for my friend, and the thought left my mind.

Other places in the Bible counsel us to pray for ourselves (James 1:5), and there are examples of spiritually great people who prayed for themselves in a God-centred way. But there’s something so powerful about pouring your heart out for someone else, and then watching God work. 

I’m thinking it might be the antidote for the self-centredness I’ve been struggling with. Since I’ve gotten more commitments – things I have to remember and get done by certain times – I’ve become primarily focused on myself. My mind is full of things I have to do, and how I feel about doing them. Even when I’m with people, I’m still thinking about my own stuff. But there’s something blessed about self-forgetfulness, and I think I'm going to try making this a habit. Next time I feel overwhelmed with my commitments, I’m going to pick someone and pray for them. Every time a selfish thought, or a lie about who I am, tries to get me discouraged, I’m going to pray for someone else. Maybe it's in asking for others, we find for ourselves.

So, that’s something I’ve been learning! What about you? Have you ever experienced praying for someone else to the point of self-forgetfulness? Am I the only one who hadn’t noticed that aspect of Jesus’ parable?