I’m just guessing, but I imagine that the coronavirus pandemic has created an increase in the number of people who are praying. It’s natural for humans to cry out to God for help whenever we’re afraid or confused or when we’re reminded that our circumstances are out of our control.
At least I know that’s true for me.
Years ago a small group of us took a business trip to Chicago, and after we landed at O’Hare we got in a cab for the drive to our downtown hotel. The driver never spoke to us; we just told him our destination while we piled into his cab. I don’t know what this driver had been doing before he picked us up, but I think he was stoned out of his gourd. He was flying along over 90 mph, swerving from one lane to the next, passing every other car on the road. I was able to get a glance at his face a few times in his rearview mirror, and I swear his eyes were closed! I started praying. It was simply an automatic reaction. I don’t think I ever prayed so hard in my life! I was sore the next day from the way my muscles were tensed up the entire drive. Needless to say, every time we took a cab that trip, we checked to make sure it wasn’t the same driver.
I think we all tend to pray when we’re afraid. But how should believers be praying when it comes to COVID-19? I’m not sure I have the perfect answer to that question, but I’ll share what’s going on in my prayer life these days. These are some principles of prayer that I’ve learned over the years and that have become important to me. You may have different ideas you’d like to share in the comments, so feel free to do that, I’d love to hear them!
First of all, I believe God wants us to be specific in our prayers, so it’s important just to come out and tell God what you want. Be honest and be specific.I’m asking God for his protection over my family and friends. I’m praying for the safety of everyone who is in an essential job. I’m praying that God will heal all who are sick. I’m praying that God will provide for everyone who is struggling financially, mentally, and spiritually. Most of all, though, I’m asking God to stop the virus in its tracks and to let our lives get back to normal very soon. There is some selfishness in that, but those are the things that are truly on my heart.
In what we know as the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, Jesus tells us to start out focusing on God: “your name,” “your kingdom,” “your will.” Then right in the middle of the prayer, the pronouns change:
“Give us today the food we need.” (Matthew 6:11)
Jesus knows that there are things we need. He knows there are things we want. And he gives us permission to ask for the things that are on our hearts.
I think God is honored when we’re completely open and honest with him. He knows what’s in our hearts anyway. It isn’t like we can hide our thoughts from him, so we might as well get it all out in the open. When I pray, I’m honest with God, and I’m specific. I tell him exactly what it is that I want.
When December comes and people start asking me what I want for Christmas, I start writing a list! My wife, on the other hand, she’ll just answer, “Oh, I don’t need anything.” Or if I try to pin her down on something she wants, she says, “If you really knew me you would know what I want. All you have to do is pay attention.” I think there must be an Old Testament verse somewhere that says that kind of response is illegal. When I give her my list, she’ll say something like, “You know it’s all about giving, right?” To which I’ll reply, “Yes, I know that. But because you want to give, I want to make sure what you give me is actually something I want!”
The danger of being honest in our prayers is that our requests may be selfish. I think mine are sometimes. I still think it’s important to be completely open and honest with God, but there are a couple of questions I use to check myself when I pray.
One is, “Would I mind if this prayer request was posted on billboards all over town?” If everyone knew how I was praying, would I be embarrassed?
Another question is, “If God answered every prayer on my list, would his kingdom be advanced, or would my life just be easier?”
Usually, if I pass the first question, this second question gets me. Which is why my second principle of prayer is to ask that God’s will be done.
Back in the Lord’s Prayer, before we even pray for our personal needs, Jesus says to pray this way:
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
That isn’t always an easy prayer, because God’s will is often opposed to my will. I’ve learned, though, that my faith in God is strong enough for me to ask him for exactly what I want, and then to tell him that I want what he wants even more. So my prayer will go something like this, “God, you know I’m asking for X. But much more than I want X, as bad as you know I want it, I want your will to be done. I surrender my desires to your desires.” Sometimes the prayer is more like, “Help me to surrender my desires to your desires.”
Prayer is so much more than informing God of your needs or trying to convince him to help you. Prayer is really about connecting with God, coming into communion with God and experiencing his presence. I’m convinced that when we don’t like what God is up to, when we don’t accept his will, many times it’s because we haven’t spent time with him, in prayer and in reading his Word. We haven’t been with him enough to know him and to hear his heart on the matter. Or to hear his heart at all.
When it comes to COVID-19, I have to admit that I don’t know what God is up to. But I know that he can and will bring good out of this. He will bring good out of evil. We can already see him at work during this time. He has certainly been able to slow down our busy lives. Many of us have realized for the first time that we are not invincible. We’ve discovered lots of things we can actually live without. We’ve started to focus on things in life that are really important. We’ve learned that the presence and the hugs of the people who are dear to us are really important.
This has also been a fantastic opportunity for people to see the church in action, showing the love of Christ by providing physical help for those in need. Those churches who were already involved in serving the less fortunate in their community certainly had an easier transition in this season.
So I’m asking God for my personal requests, while also surrendering my desires to God’s perfect will. And since I don’t actually know why God has allowed this virus to exist, and because I’m not sure what his specific plan is in all of this, I also pray that the entire world would be awakened to God’s reality and presence and power and love and salvation. I pray that people who would normally never attend church would watch services online. I pray that they will see Christians in action, serving others. I pray that they would see our confidence and security during this scary time. I pray that God will use this event to bring people all over this planet to a knowledge of him through his son Jesus Christ.
I’m praying the words of Isaiah, that:
The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. (Isaiah 9:2)
I’m praying that God will use the pandemic so that people throughout the world will have the experience of a woman from Thyatira named Lydia:
As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. (Acts 16:14)
When I pray, I’m asking God to protect us, to help us physically, emotionally, and financially, to heal those who are sick, and to stop this virus suddenly and in a way that people would look to God as the reason.
I’m also surrendering all of those desires to God and his will. I know he has a plan in all of this, even though I may ever be able to understand it.
Finally, I’m praying that people around the world will come to know Jesus. I’m praying that God will use this event to bring millions of people into a loving relationship with him that will last for eternity. I pray that he opens our eyes to his glory and that we take our minds off of ourselves long enough to see him for who he is:
“Lord, help us to see you!”