“Lord, make me,” or prayers, desire, effort, and responsibility

Okay, I couldn’t not write about this week's prayer, specifically the first part:

Lord, make me have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name

While I respect the desire expressed in this prayer, I confess that I’m troubled by make me each time I read it. We recently sang a song at church that expressed a similar sentiment: “Please wipe away the part of me that gets in the way.” I had a hard time singing these words, though I totally understand where the writer is coming from.

Here’s the problem: is it appropriate to ask God to make us do something? It seems to me that if I desire greater love and reverence for God, my prayer should be “Lord, help me to grow into perpetual love and reverence for your Holy Name.”

It’s about responsibility–that is, who’s job is it to ensure that I grow and change? Mine or God’s? Clearly, God desires my growth, and I believe that He honors my efforts to grow. And equally important, He is pleased by my desire to grow.

I’m reminded of something Gwen Shamblin (Weigh Down Workshop) used to say: “When you ask God to make you thin as you stand with your head in the refrigerator looking for more food to eat, you’re asking Him to perform a suction-assisted lipectomy.” In other words, we’re saying “change me without me having to do any work.” While I don’t agree with everything Shamblin teaches (her doctrine has apparently become a little wonky in the last few years), I very much appreciate her focus on personal responsibility; real change requires not only my desire but also my effort.

That’s where I stumble with the lyrics. Have I thought–and even prayed–something like “wipe away the part of me that gets in the way”? Absolutely! I suspect most of us have at one time or another. But is that the right (best?) prayer? I don’t think so. Let’s make it more specific: “Lord, I’m arrogant and that gets in the way; make me humble in one easy step.” We’ve got the desire for growth or change here, but not the effort, not the responsibility. [I should note that I don’t mean to dis the writer of this song; I respect the desire that’s being expressed. I question, though, what these words teach us, the attitude that they promote.]

In Psalm 25, David says, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord.” At first glance, this might seem to validate the appointed prayer and the lyrics. But look at where David goes with this:

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.

David repeats his plea with “teach me” twice in these two verses. What I take from this is “show me how, Father”:

• teach me to love You more;
• show me how to get rid of hindrances;
• help me learn what my role is in changing and growing.

Other translations support this idea; most render “Make me to know your ways” as “Show me your ways.” There’s no sense of God compelling us here.

So, what do you think? It occurs to me that perhaps I’m going all English teacher and getting caught up in semantics, splitting hairs. That is a possibility, because I know that it’s easy for me to make too much of language and so miss the point. Tell me your thoughts about this prayer–and my take on it–in the comments.

Tagged as: change, desire, growth, prayer, responsibility