Often, I pray for help, and, in the same prayer, suggest the preferred solution.
Emmet Fox describes this as “Outlining,” and that is the right word. I outline the solution to the problem in my prayer.
My sponsor describes this as “Treating God like a cosmic bellhop. Telling Him to fetch this and get that.”
What my sponsor lacks in sympathy, he more than compensates with clarity and accuracy. I was treating God like a cosmic bellhop.
And I cover this up with mischievous ideas like, “Please give this troublesome person the right attitude,” or “Please give me this (money, job, girl, etc.); it will only be used to fulfill your will.”
This honest examination of my prayers revealed an extraordinary level of self-possessed egotism. I am telling God what to do. Wow!
But that was only part of the problem.
The other part of the problem is that I often fail to see God’s solution. Although he answers my prayer, I miss it because I was looking for something else—my solution.
You will be surprised to learn that God’s solution is often much better than mine. Therefore, I should stop outlining solutions to the problems I present to God. He is not a cosmic bellhop.
Go figure.
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