How a Revolutionary Prayer Can Make You a World Changer (Part 3)
Image: Posterama.co | Tomasz Biernat & Ranadip De
by Rick Love
I’ve met a lot of world-changers and activists in my life. And one thing I’ve noticed is that they all need to be focused in one specific direction in order to be most fruitful! That’s why I think learning to pray the Serenity Prayer as a way of life is so revolutionary.
By nature, some people prefer to focus on serenity when they pray, others prefer to pray for courage, while still others prioritize wisdom. In other words, many people lead “one-petition” lives.
But this prayer calls us to a rich biblical balance. Scripture makes it clear that we should wholeheartedly pray all three petitions. In fact, it is unfortunate that this is known as the Serenity Prayer since it addresses so much more than personal peace.
You can read about the first two petitions in my previous blogs. Today let’s examine the third petition: “God grant me the wisdom to know the difference” (between what I can’t change and what I can).
This petition is for the wisdom to discern what to say yes to and what to say no to. In part one of this series, I noted that Jesus only did what he saw the Father doing (John 5:19,30). This gave Jesus divine focus.
Near the end of his life Jesus was then able to say to God, “I glorified You on earth by finishing the work that You gave me to do” (John 17:4). Jesus didn’t change everything, but he accomplished the unique work he was sent to do.
Like Jesus, you have a unique calling or destiny. Paul says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). You are created to walk in the good works that God prepared for you to walk in. And you need wisdom to discern what those good works are.
There is a whole book of the Bible, called Proverbs, that focuses on wisdom, and there are hundreds of verses throughout the Bible calling us to walk in wisdom. Reading and practicing what the Bible teaches about wisdom is one of the best ways to become wise.
The other primary way to walk in wisdom is through prayer. Proverbs speaks of crying out to God for wisdom, and King Solomon models this in his famous prayer for wisdom in Proverbs 2:3-6 and 1 Kings 3:9-12. Jesus’ younger brother James also encourages us with a command and a promise:
“If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.”
- James 1:5
So praying the three petitions of the Serenity Prayer can help us to do the good deeds God prepared beforehand that we should walk in. Lord, grant us serenity, courage and wisdom to discern those deeds and change our world!
