454. Request or Thankfulness

I read somewhere that our dialogue falls into one of two categories: Request or Thankfulness. At first, I thought it was too simplistic an approach, given the dynamic nature of human emotions and expression. But after some thinking, it might be mostly true, if not helpful.

If your child says, “Dad, you never spend time with me!” before you react, see whether it is a request or thankfulness. It is a request. Request to spend more time. Your parent says, “Hey, son, you didn’t have to buy such an expensive bag for me! Request or thankfulness? Thankfulness. But many times, we interpret such responses as either “attack” or “ungratefulness”, which sours relationships.

We are so prone to interpret conversations based on our feelings, but if we can correctly identify the intention behind someone’s speech, we will have fewer fights and more connections. And having only two filters makes it easier for us to discern others’ true intentions.

I think our dialogue with God mostly falls into one of these two categories as well. Either we are making a request to God (even if it sounds like a complaint), or giving thanks to him. Thankfully, God has no problem discerning our true intentions. And I believe if we can just do these two well in our prayer, our relationship with God can stay meaningful.

While I was guest preaching at LA, I did a major revision to the first session message. But many ideas were tangled up, so I said, “God, why does preparing this message feel so agonizing!” It was a request for him to intervene. Thankfully, the first session with the new message was well received. And I said after, “God, why can’t the message come out easier if I am doing it for you!” It was me giving thanks for helping me finish the first message, even through agony. I’m sure that God heard correctly what I really said.