At one time or another, my guess is that all of us have prayed a “bargaining prayer.” You know the kind I’m talking about. It might occur as you are waiting to interview with the personnel director, and you begin silently praying, “Dear God, if you let me have this job, I promise I’ll go to church every Sunday.” It might happen as you are driving home during an ice storm. “Dear Lord, if you make sure I get home safely, I swear I will never try anything this foolish again.” Even pastors are not immune to the practice. “O Lord, if you would just give me a little help with this sermon, I promise I’ll start working on next week’s before Saturday night.”
In effect, it is the “Let’s Make A Deal” approach to our relationship with God. We are facing a tight situation, anxious about how we will be able to manage it, and so we fire off an urgent, 9-1-1 call to heaven. “Let’s make a deal, Lord! You help me out of this jam, and in return, I’ll be a better, kinder, more loving person.”
As far as I can tell, the ploy is at least as old as Father Abraham, who could wheel and deal with the best of them. On more than one occasion, he tries haggling with God, only to discover that God doesn’t make deals; God makes covenants!
What’s the difference? Plenty. In the Bible, every covenant between God and humankind is initiated by God. In other words, the mistaken assumption of a bargaining prayer is that, in order to get the Almighty’s help, you first have to get the Almighty’s attention.
But nothing could be further from the truth. When we are in trouble, we do not need to entice God into action. We do not need to motivate God with our seemingly irresistible offers. We do not need to manufacture promises, so that it will be worth God’s while. God is already well aware of our situation, and more to the point, God has already promised to be there for us.
As the Apostle Paul so eloquently puts it: “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Frankly, that’s a better deal than any of us could have ever imagined—much less cut on our own!
In effect, it is the “Let’s Make A Deal” approach to our relationship with God. We are facing a tight situation, anxious about how we will be able to manage it, and so we fire off an urgent, 9-1-1 call to heaven. “Let’s make a deal, Lord! You help me out of this jam, and in return, I’ll be a better, kinder, more loving person.”
As far as I can tell, the ploy is at least as old as Father Abraham, who could wheel and deal with the best of them. On more than one occasion, he tries haggling with God, only to discover that God doesn’t make deals; God makes covenants!
What’s the difference? Plenty. In the Bible, every covenant between God and humankind is initiated by God. In other words, the mistaken assumption of a bargaining prayer is that, in order to get the Almighty’s help, you first have to get the Almighty’s attention.
But nothing could be further from the truth. When we are in trouble, we do not need to entice God into action. We do not need to motivate God with our seemingly irresistible offers. We do not need to manufacture promises, so that it will be worth God’s while. God is already well aware of our situation, and more to the point, God has already promised to be there for us.
As the Apostle Paul so eloquently puts it: “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Frankly, that’s a better deal than any of us could have ever imagined—much less cut on our own!
posted by Dr. Robert Crilley at
5:57 PM
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