Prayer

Everybody has their own beliefs about prayer. Some say that prayer is just about agreeing with God and his will. Even Henry Blackabee believes this. He tells a story about the year he bought his son a blue bike, and then gently coaxed his son into wanting and asking for a blue bike.

This sounds good and extremely respectful of the sovereignty of God. I mean, God has everything under control and planned out. And as this sounds good, I would believe it whole-heartedly.

But then there are other Scriptures to consider. My favorite is Luke 18:1-8. This is a story about a widow who pleads with an unjust judge to help her. He does not agree with her nor does he want to help her, but finally does because she bugs him to death. Jesus told us to pray like that widow. Why would God want us to pray like that?

Another favorite is the story about the man who begs for bread from his friend for his guest late at night. The friend does not want to help, but does because of the insistance of the man. Jesus said we are to pray like that. Pray as though we were trying to change God's mind. Sounds blasphemous, doesn't it?

This post is not meant to teach anything, but rather air out my questions about prayer.. Do I just pray "Thy will be done"? or do I pray for what I want or need as though it depended on my insistance? Seems to my like Scripture says to do both.