Shopping List Praying

 

 

Heavenly Father,

Help me reduce my shopping list

And the constant adding of items

I believe I miss.

 

It is growing longer

And daily more bulky

And I am really beginning to feel

I am kind of greedy.

 

It is mostly about the things

That I think I need:

Mostly tangible and material

And bargain deals.

 

For life to be much easier,

For finances to improve

And to help me to get myself

Into a better groove.

 

The car wants changing

It is over three years

And the house needs painting;

It looks so drear.

 

 

Thus continues the list

With intermittent breaks

To think of more needed items

Mostly for my sake.

 

I am not selfish,

I pray for others too

That as God supplies my needs

They will also get through.

 

It’s getting overbearing,

These shopping lists

But for some reason, dear God,

I cannot resist.

 

And then the complaints,

These are numerous too

Such that I am tired and sleepy

When I get through.

 

Nothing is going right

In this country of ours

And almost every waking morn

There are new horrors.

 

Another homicide

Or another road fatality

And my prayer shopping list

Grows exponentially.

 

I am tired of it, Lord,

For it has become a ritual

And that I now seem ungrateful

Is somewhat regrettable.

 

 

Help me to see you

Beyond a shopping list

And to see you as the reason

Why I exist.

 

In you I live and move

And have my being,

Without you there’s nothing

I am capable of achieving.

 

And all that I ask for

You give to me anyway

Meaning I should give thanks

Each and every day.

 

You have promised

To supply my every need

And that you have been doing

In fact, indeed.

 

 

Help me not reduce you

To a shopping list God

But to acknowledge the fact

You are my all in all.

 

So, all praise to you

For your abundance

And let my shopping list pale

In genuine repentance.

 

Stewart Russell © September 1, 2024

 

God Is Not A Heavenly Bellboy

 

 

God is not a heavenly bellboy

As some people believe,

Such as, whatever I ask of Him

I must surely receive.

 

He is not a hotel bellboy

To whom one gives the chores

Or present to Him a shopping list

Itemizing what one adores.

 

And while He gives the best service

We should not take Him for granted,

He certainly is not a magic wand

With which we become enchanted.

 

God is not a heavenly bellboy

In a hotel of our choice,

He is not in our employ

To be guided by our voice.

 

We sometimes forget to thank Him

And rush straight to our list

Of things we require from Him

Frequently adding on what we miss.

 

Our praise is often shallow

As though He’s just a convenience,

Not recognizing we need to start

With a heart of godly repentance

 

We treat to God like a bellboy

In the way we pray to Him

With our unending list of sundries,

Seldom repenting of our sin.

 

Prayer warriors are among the guilty

And prayer intercessors too

And they claim enormous power

Saying there’s nothing they can't do.

For God is their heavenly bellboy

That responds to their every test

And whatever they ask of Him,

He will always grant their request.

 

How deluded can Christians get

To treat to God this way

As though He simply exists

To be their modern day sure pay.

 

On the basis of our bellboy

We can demand, declare and decree,

For we determine what’s best for us

And God would just have to agree.

 

Fallacy of all fallacies…

I pray that we understand

That God operates only as He wills

And not in sync with our plan.

 

When this settles down on us

We would certainly know for sure

That God is not our heavenly bellboy

That stands at our hotel door.

 

 

Instead, he is the self-sufficient I AM

That is guided by no man,

It is far better to seek God’s will

And then make His will our plan.

 

Stewart Russell © March 2020