For the glory of Thy name

Do you ever wonder if your prayers are “spiritual enough” for God to answer? Should all of our prayers be about spiritual matters only—or can we pray for small things too?

This week, we took ten teenagers to a teen overnight retreat called “Super Youth,” held in Detroit, Illinois. There were many games and activities to go along with our weekend of

preaching, and one of the activities that we were all looking forward to was lake time: zip-lining, kayaking, a water slide, and swimming. But, the weather forecast was calling for RAIN on Friday and Saturday!

So I prayed for the rain to stay away. It might not seem like a very spiritual prayer, but I knew that some of the kids attending the retreat were especially looking forward to swimming, and might even be able to appreciate the ten preaching sessions more if they had enjoyed a good time swimming. In the end, God said “yes” to my prayer for good weather, and we did not see

heavy rain until all the outdoor games were finished on Saturday!

Psalm 79:9 says, “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name.” In prayer, our appeal is always aimed toward the glory of God. In everything we pray—big or small—we

ought to ask ourselves, “How can God receive the glory through this prayer?” Even “small” prayer requests—like a sunny hour for swim time—can bring glory to God’s name.