The Abdication of Responsibility
Frequently, I hear people praying something like this:
“God, if this isn’t your will, then shut the door. Just take it away.”
I challenge that type of prayer as a spiritual abdication of responsibility. We are not praying in that instance for wisdom to make a right choice about the situation. Instead, we are praying that God would remove the possibility of making a wrong choice about the situation. And that, to me, is passing the buck, and is the antithesis of spiritual maturity.
Will God sometimes close doors that aren’t his will? Yes. But should we count on him always to do so? Emphatically “No!”
Think of it in terms of raising a child. When the child is very young and toddling around the house, you do remove him from harm’s way. You literally shut doors on danger. He doesn’t know any better, and he can’t know any better. You don’t expect him to. He’s too young.
Now fast forward eighteen years. The child is now a young man. Would you consider him mature if you continued to remove all possibility of him getting into trouble or making a foolish decision? No. He is only considered mature when he is able to make a wise decision with all options open to him.
Don’t pray that God will remove the need for you to make a decision. Pray that you will have the wisdom to make the right decision.
© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com
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Themocracy
Great article about making good choices vs. having no choice. I find that when I am in a quandry about what to do, I always consider the consequences of each choice and then move forward however I think is best. By choosing action I am at least moving forward towards my goals. I trust that if God doesn’t want me on that path, He’ll put up blockers along the way to let me know it. ~ Kris Cavanaugh (www.begintoshift.com)
Appreciate your site. Extremely educational post.
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