House of Cards

There's a story in the Bible of two brothers. They approach the Messiah and make a request. They want to sit on His right and His left in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus responds by telling them they don't know what they are asking. He continues his response by teaching about extreme servanthood.

I think a lot of times we are the same way. I wonder if we know what we are asking God when we pray, and if we did would we still pray it?

We pray to grow in our love walk.
God responds by allowing someone to come into our life who's behavior is anything but lovable.

We pray to be more patient.
God allows us to wait longer.

We pray to be a purified.
God turns up the heat and allows our motivations to be exposed.

We pray for a spouse.
God tells us we need to learn to be less selfish.

We pray for a new job.
God tells us to be more productive where we are at.

We pray for rain, only to discover we have been inhabiting a paper house. We pray for wind, only discover a windy day isn't a good time to be living in a house of cards. Rain washes away impurities, and wind blows away everything that isn't stable.

So I wonder at times if when we pray, we know what we are asking, and if so, are we really ready for the answer?