Praying for Snow

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

I once heard somebody pray that it would snow. It was in the middle of winter and there was no snow on the ground. When I later asked the person why they asked God to make it snow, their answer was simply that the snow is pretty, and winter doesn’t feel right without snow.

That felt silly to me, but I couldn’t quite pin down why it felt silly. I had these nagging memories of people throughout my life saying that nothing is “too small” to pray for: God loves us so much that He cares about everything from desperate needs to little desires. I started wondering if my pride is causing me to forget that God cares about every detail of our lives … there are always going to be bigger things to pray for, but that doesn’t mean we can’t pray for little things too, right?

After some time thinking about it, it occurred to me that I’m not asking the right questions.

Instead of asking “is it wrong to pray for little desires?”, I should be asking “what does it tell me about myself when trivial things are often in my prayers?”.

Instead of the innocent-sounding question “Doesn’t God take time to hear all my requests?”, I should ask myself “Am I considering the gravity of each of my requests?”.

It’s not about how much time God has, and it’s not about what we’re allowed to ask for. It’s not even about our “little desires”. In fact, it’s about our biggest desires. Some reflection on our prayers may reveal how paltry our biggest desires really are. You won’t find the apostles asking God for trite comforts and conveniences. If you’re like me, comparing your own prayers with what the apostles prayed for will feel embarrassing.

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