Whenever I find myself praying to change or improve my human circumstances, I know I’m on the wrong track.
At first glance that statement may seem strange. Shouldn’t we expect our prayers to bring results? Yes, we certainly should. But what’s the nature of those results? Why, exactly, are we praying?
One thing we should definitely not expect prayer to do is change reality. The Bible tells us in many places that God, good, is the only creator, and that His creation must therefore be good—and not only good, but perfect (see Matthew 5:48). There’s no point in trying to change perfection, even if we could.
