Praying our Way Out or In

Read John 12:20-35

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” -John 12:27-28

Several years ago, I heard a sermon in which the preacher stated that there are two types of Christians: those who "pray their way in" and those who "pray their way out". Most of us know quite well what it means to "pray our way out". When we forget to run the important errand that our spouse asked us to run, we try to "pray our way out". When we see the blue lights in our rear view mirror and we're already running late for our appointment, we try to "pray our way out". When we've received a pink slip at work and have the difficult task of finding another job in this economy, we try to "pray our way out". Most of us can identify with the prayers that ask God to get us out of the jam in which we find ourselves.

But there's another way of talking with God: praying our way in. When we forget to run that important errand for our spouse, we can try to pray our way into a new way of remembering and valuing the needs of our spouse. When the police car's blue lights are flashing behind us, we can try to pray our way into using the traffic stop as a teaching moment for more discipline in our driving and the importance of giving ourselves more time to get to where we're going. When we lose a job, we can try to pray our way into trusting God's provision and finding peace in the fact that our unknown future is known by God.

In John 12, Jesus predicts his own death. It appears as if he pauses to consider whether to pray himself out of this situation or to pray himself "in". He chooses not to ask God to spare him, but instead that God would be glorified in "this hour".

May God grant us the grace today, when tempted to pray our way out of something, to try instead "praying our way in." And may God be glorified.