Pills

I'd rather fight You for something I don't really want,

Than take what You give that I need...

-Rich Mullins (Hold Me Jesus)

At one time or another we've all seen a medication ad. Whether it was on TV or in a magazine, we've seen them.
They always show people having fun, usually riding in a convertible on a sunny day, at the carnival with little children, or cuddling with their spouse at the beach while watching a sunset. We all laugh and shake our heads in disbelief when they list off all the side effects that usually include, nausea, dizziness, dry-mouth, and in severe cases death. Then they tell you not to take the medication if you're pregnant or have a host of other medical conditions. Finally they conclude with a cheerful "Ask your doctor about..."

I've always wondered how much doctors appreciate that. They've spent years of their money and time studying and studying to be qualified to treat peoples physical ailments and then their patients walk in and tell them what they think they need.

This morning I was considering this thought of medications and my own prayers.
How often do I go to the Lord and tell Him what I think I need, what He needs to give me.

Lord I just need Your peace
... Your joy
... Your strength
... Your grace

Now I'm not saying those things are bad, I've prayed that way for years, but recently whenever I go to speak these same prayers I find myself hesitating at a heightened awareness of who I'm talking to.
My Father, my Good Shepherd, the One who knows me far better than I know myself, yet here I am telling Him what I think I need from Him.

Very few medications actually cure a disease or chronic/seasonal issues. Mostly they're just trying to help a person manage the symptoms of a more complicated condition.
Doctors and even our advanced medical technology has it's limits. But the Lord doesn't.

When I'm caught in a pattern of worry or fear, I want to pop a peace pill, and thus pray for the Lord's peace. But is that what I really need? To just chase my symptoms around with the Lord's attributes?
The Lord has no limits, and there is only one thing that can inhibit His ability to bring complete freedom and deliverance. Me.

If' I'm caught in a pattern of worry and fear than I need the Lord to perform His lengthy and often times painful process of surgically removing those things from me. I can pray for peace to be slathered on it all day, but that's like pulling the leaves off of a tree you don't want. The roots are still there and thus that tree will be too.

So the question remains squarely on you and I. Are we willing? Are we so sick of our sinful habits, that we'll lay our lives out before the Lord with only one prayer on our lips. "Lord give me what you know I need."

The longer I've allowed the Lord to work on this area in my life of worry and fear, the less I pray for His peace and the more I turn to Peace. He is my peace. He is my joy, my strength, my grace, His very person is all that I need.
I don't need to ask for Super God pills, I just look to Him and know I already have all that I need before I even ask.

"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

"Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 

Matthew 6:7-8