“Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” –Genesis 19:20, ESV
Consider Lot’s request. Angels have delivered him from evil, and given him, not just a way out from destruction, but a way TO God. But he would have to run (v.17)—as if for a prize (1Co 9:24). But Lot requests an easier escape: A “little place,” an insignificant haven. His mind was on earthly things (Phi 3:19), not on heavenly rewards (Col 3:1-2).
God is offering us freedom in the hills, and the opportunity to draw near His altar. But what do we ask from the LORD? Safe travels? Quick recovery? Successful surgeries? Hedges of protection that keep us in our comfort zones? New luxuries? Better houses? A higher-paying job? How often do our prayers treat God like a butler in the sky, pleading for a pillow? “Lord, heal me quickly so I no longer have to suffer. Settle the strife in my family so we can just get along. Free me from anxiety so I no longer have these panic attacks.”
These requests are like Lot’s—concerned only with what we can see (or feel). But to pray for the temporal with no thought to the eternal, is to make requests for… insignificance.
“Do not be like [the babbling Gentiles in prayer], for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So pray this way: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored, may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” –Matthew 6:8-13, NET
If our pursuit was truly upon Christ, how might our prayers look different?
“Lord, open my eyes as we travel to our destination, and let our hearts be open to holy detours where we can give witness to your greatness to the tow truck driver.”
“Father, I have signed the blank check of my life and handed it over to you. My body is in Your hands. If Your desire is to strike me with infirmity in order to send me as a witness into a hospital, I will joyfully comply.”
“O God, You give and You take away. If it would be better for my house to burn to the ground if this is what it takes to remove from my heart these worldly possessions. May I joyfully sing your praises as I stand before the ashes.”
May all my superficial prayers be ignored, and this one prayer be answered: “Draw me closer to you, God, so that I may be conformed into the image of your son to the praise of your glorious grace. Keep Your kingdom and mission before my eyes; my heart declaring, ‘It is well with my soul’ to whatever may come.’”