Prayerful Surrender

When he [Jesus] came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
Matthew 8:1-2

Now, many of us know this story, its a very well known one, Jesus heals the leper. I have heard/read this story so many times, but the other night as I read it the mans words stood out to me. He did not say, "Make me clean" or "Please heal me"... instead he says 4 very simple and very sacrificial words, "if you are willing".

As humans we get it in our minds that we know whats best for us. So often we pray, "God, please..." or "I pray that you will..." but where is the sense of surrender? As Christians we have surrendered our lives to Him for better or worst. So, sometimes God has bigger plans than we have for ourselves. Sometimes we think we need something (like being healed of a disease) but he has bigger plans, and maybe his plans include you being sick.

Okay, I will get a little personal here. Like most females, I have always had the desire to get married, but unlike most females I do not assume that one day I will get married (just a personal thing God has put on my heart, I am in no way bashing on anyone that assumes they will get married). A few years ago I realized that I was expecting God to send me a husband... that's just stupid, he does not owe me anything (again, just saying for myself, not for everyone). So, I started thinking differently, instead of saying "when I get married" I changed it to "if I get married". I also started praying differently... "if it is your will, send me a husband" and even "if it is your will, help him to like me but if not help my feelings to change" (stuff like that). But it gets a little more confusing than that, because sometimes God simply want us to come to him and ask him for what we want.

So, I am working very hard to change the way I pray... it is taking some time to change what has (sadly) become somewhat of a habit, but I am working on it.
By praying "Lord, if you are willing, you can..." surrenders the whole situation to him. 1. It tells him what you want 2.it says that you trust his judgment and 3. you are surrendering all at the same time.

So I encourage you to personally figure out if/how you should change the way you pray. We are all different, if you agree with the things I have said, great... if not, simply figure out how you should make your prayers more personal... less stereotypical.

...Let your will be done, Lord.