The Endgame of All Prayer

I'm writing from NYC this morning. God woke we up earlier than expected this morning with an unreasonable amount of energy. After fiddling around with trying to fall back asleep for a few minutes, I gave in. I bent to my knees, closed my eyes, and the first thing that came out of my mouth as I began to pray confirmed that this morning my schedule included an unforeseen appointment with the Holy Spirit.

"Let the endgame of all of my prayers and blessings be glory to you, Father..."

Prayer, like any conversation, has an endgame, a moment where one finally receives what one was looking for. All the prayers we pray, whether we realize it or not, have an endgame. We pray a prayer of thanksgiving in order to count our blessings and remind ourselves of how fortunate we are. We pray a prayer of confession in the hopes of repenting and cleansing ourselves from sin. We pray a prayer of adoration to remind ourselves how powerful and loving our God is. And we pray a prayer of supplication in the hopes of seeing God move in our lives.

These are all honorable and justifiable endgames for our prayers. But being in NYC, and praying for God's favor recently, I have been reminded that the true endgame, the pinnacle, the answer to every prayer, is the glory of the God we're speaking to.

An answered prayer isn't truly answered until the glory is placed in the proper hands of the Lord God. "Every good and perfect gift comes from God" (James 1:17), and therefore "His glory is the desire of our hearts." (Isaiah 26:8).

I truly believe that everyone's life would be better if they had a personal relationship with the Lord God and His Son Jesus Christ, and because of this, with every prayer I pray, I want to echo the words of Isaiah and cry out for God to be glorified. If God goes unnoticed, the prayer has not really been answered. The endgame of all prayer is the glory of God, because the endgame of our lives is the glory of God. Let my life be a prayer for you, O Lord.

"Be exalted, O God, in the heavens, let your glory be over all the earth." Psalm 57: 5&11

jon