What impossible situation needs your prayer attention? Mary Byers circles hers and shares her heart.
Elisa
Dancing with Uncertainty
By Mary Byers
“Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers... The greatest moments in life are the miraculous moments when human impotence and divine omnipotence intersect—and they intersect when we draw a circle around the impossible situations in our lives and invite God to intervene.”
--Mark Batterson
After reading the above quote, I decided to draw a circle in my journal and write down the two impossible situations in my life, both involving estrangements. One between two people I love (each with whom I’m still in contact) and one between me and two people I love (neither of whom I’m in contact with). These situations are unexpected and unwanted, and they have upended me.
As I stared at the circled situations on my journal page, I realized inviting God to intervene could require action on my part at some time. Honestly, I don’t feel up to the task—whatever it may be. And so I also made a prayer list and I’m sharing it with you in case it will help in your impossible situations.
I pray for:
Clarity—to hear God’s voice in both situations, regarding the best way forward—and the proper timing—as well as understanding whatever role I played in these estrangements.
Willingness—to take a step, or not, depending on what I hear from God.
Patience—to understand that reconciliation can take years.
Acceptance—to realize that there are more people than me involved and that even if I want reconciliation, others may not.
Elimination—to remove any stubbornness and pride that makes it desirable to protect the status quo because in these situations not doing anything may be the easiest route in the short run.
Grace—to acknowledge that we all need grace.
Self-forgiveness—to have the ability to forgive myself for what I knowingly and unknowingly did in each of these situations.
Courage—to recognize that contributing to the resolution of these situations may require me to do or say things that scare me.
Open handedness—to enable me to hold circumstances lightly, rather than clinging to the way I’ve been hurt and mistreated in these situations, and to accepting the outcome.
Strength—to do the necessary dance with the uncertainty of human interaction and the way we sometimes hold each other at arm’s length.
My situations remain impossible but I feel like I’ve made progress just by writing them down and turning them over to God. And now, at least, I have the above prayer list to focus on as I embrace the task of softening my own hard heart, even as I ask God to soften the hearts of others.
Mary Byers is a professional speaker, association consultant and strategic planning facilitator. She’s the author of eight books, including Making Work at Home Work and Race for Relevance. She loves improv and is also a pickleball enthusiast. Connect with her at marybyers.com.