Ask

I wonder how often I pray for the wrong thing?

I wonder that because of this story I read this morning in Acts 3:1-6: “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
“Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’”

A lame man asked for coins when he could have healing. He probably did that because he couldn’t even fathom the idea that he could walk again. His highest hopes probably involved getting enough money that he no longer had to beg.

I’m sure my faith is like that sometimes. I ask for things like strength to get through the day or patience for a meeting, or healing for a friend – good things, as far as they go. But what if God has a much greater blessing he can give, like excitement for every moment of my day?

God probably does, and he also probably gives me the much better thing than I asked for a lot of the time. But I still think I might limit my prayers through a lack of belief that God would do an amazing thing for me. I’m a pragmatic Calvinist; if he gets me through today with only an appropriate amount of suffering – we Calvinists require some suffering - that will be enough.

Can I pray with greater faith? If I did, what might happen?