Talking Toilet Brush?

Well, I HAVE been cleaning toilets a lot lately! Probably more than drying my hair.

I have been studying several scriptures about prayer as I prepare for the retreat we are having with the elders and ministers and their wives this weekend. It occurred to me, while I was cleaning the bathrooms, that I have been praying wrong. Well, not necessarily wrong, maybe just on the surface.

Of all the scriptures I have been reading, (I am not claiming that I have studied an exhaustive list, but I have read many) none of them mention praying for the physical health of a person. Even the passage in James (. . .the prayer of a righteous man is able to heal. . .)seems to talk about spiritual sickness. I realized that the Bible outlines many things to spend my time praying over, and none of them involve physical health.

That seems to be all I do at times. Our church bulletin is full of health prayer requests. When we take prayer requests in small or large groups, most of them refer to someone's friend's cousin's health, or someone's sister's friend's dad's health, or. . .well, you get the picture.

I am not suggesting that God does not want us to pray for people when they are physically sick. He does. He knows it worries us, makes us feel vulnerable, and tests our faith. He wants to share in those feelings with us. But I can't help but feel like if these requests are all I spend my prayer time dealing with, then I have missed something important.

What the scriptures do mention about prayer are spiritual in nature. I mean Jeremiah, Paul, John, and whoever wrote Hebrews suggest that we spend a great ammount of time praying for wisdom, strength through God's power, God's glory, peace, unity, a life pleasing to God, and so much more. The book of Hebrews suggests that we pray to "draw near to God" (which involves sharing our worries and troubles with Him) and to "encourage one another to love and good deeds."

I realized that even though God does care what we have to endure here on earth, His main focus is always on kingdom work. In sharing a relationship with me, he hurts, rejoices, cries, and laughs right along with me. If it's a big deal to me, it's a big deal to Him. But relationships are two way streets, and in return, He wants the things that are important to Him to be important to me.