Came across this quote from Phillips Brooks,
an American preacher and Episcopal bishop
(1835 - 1893). Sounds very 'nice' -
"Do not pray for easy lives.
Pray to be stronger men and women.
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.
Pray for powers equal to your tasks."
But to live it out? Quite a different story, right?
It's always a temptation to pray for an easy life -
or pray for problems to go away when they come
instead of seeing them as opportunities to grow
in spiritual maturity and character.
It's equally tempting to pray for tasks that do not
stretch us. Why look for trouble and problems?
But that is also missing opportunities to cry to
God for help to see us through and see how God
answers and reveals Himself to us.
And growing in spiritual maturity and a closer
relationship with God is important in life, isn't it?
Important enough to resist praying for 'easy lives'
and 'easy tasks'?
However, it does not mean though, that one will
be purposely praying for a tough life and tough
jobs, does it? I doubt it.
Problems will naturally come to us. The lesson is
not to pray for the easy way out but to pray to be
strong to take the test and pass. And if tough jobs
land on our laps, the lesson is not to elak or pass
the parcel but to pray for power to get the job
done and be stretched.
I think that's what the preacher had in mind and
that's sound advice. But as most advice goes, it's
easier than done. Yet, is there a choice if you
want to grow? And shouldn't you want to grow?
