One day, while pondering circumstances beyond my control, (which is more often than I'd like to admit) I prayed that God would change my circumstances so that I'd be free of all my burdens. The Spirit put a groan upon me that said "That was VERY Selfish of you. Your circumstances caused you to pray, why aren't you thankful for them in that regard?"
With that being the case, I then prayed a different prayer that I would NEVER have prayed. It went like this. (along the lines of a reply that Ray Gave to a person who wondered why pray when God is in charge)
Father, I THANK you for the blessing of a new day. I thank you for the circumstances that you have used to cause me to come to you in prayer.
I give up on
My AMBITIOUS goals in exchange for your unfolding PURPOSE in my life.
My desire to be RESCUED out of my troubles, in exchange for being TRANSFORMED by the counsel of your will as a result of them.
My ANXIETIES about my circumstances, in exchange for your Rest & UNDERSTANDING.
My DREAMS in exchange for your VISION of my life.
You probably get the gist of where I'm going with this. Much of my prayers for the longest time have been "Father do this for me, Do that for me........" Instead of this, I now ask Him to teach me to live contented with what He has provided me today. And for that, this season will bear the fruit from the seeds He has planted.
Ches