Praying for weakness

Yesterday I was involved in two prayer services. One was a prayer vigil at our church, another was a community prayer service at another church.

One petition that I kept hearing over and over was a request to strengthen us and make us bold, so that we can do more for God. I even prayed for that myself. But on the way home it occurred to me that really isn't what God desires for us. God doesn't really want us strong and bold - he wants us humble and surrendered to Him! He doesn't even want us doing things for Him, he wants us empty and surrendered so He can do things through us.

We, especially here in America, have this desire to be strong, to be self reliant, to be self sufficient. And that all sounds good, but it's not what God wants for us. When we are weak, God will work through us, and we can do far more with God, than we can ever do without God.

So maybe, instead of praying for strength, we should be praying for weakness. Sounds like a dangerous prayer, but I would rather be weak and filled with God, than strong and on my own!