At Rhodes College, in the Bellingrath dorm, there's a small, beautiful chapel on the first floor. When I was a student there, it was one of my favorite places to go in the evenings. As soon as you enter, you know that you're in a holy, sacred place that's fit for worship.

It also usually felt like just the right environment to ask God to help me get a girlfriend.

I was trying my best, but I'd experienced enough rejection to know that I could use some divine assistance. Maybe if I prayed about it with enough fervency, the Holy Spirit could come in as my wingman, and provide an extra nudge.

Fortunately, God did not answer any of these prayers. He left me in the dating wilderness for most of my twenties. But eventually, there was good news—Mo and I will be celebrating fifteen years of marriage this December.

Why do you pray? Why do I pray?

Most of the time, it's because we want something from God.

Either we have a problem that we need to solve, or we have a desire for something that we want fulfilled. But does this kind of prayer reflect a lack of faith, or even selfishness?

I think it's unfortunate that some pastors scold us for praying like this. God is not a strict taskmaster. In fact, Jesus taught us to ask God for our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). We serve a good and loving Father who is delighted to meet our needs. As Paul reminds us in Romans 8:26-27:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.

So, remember that God invites you to ask Him for anything and everything, whenever and however you want. Experience the freedom and joy of being God's beloved son or daughter. He won't get upset with you. You may ask him as many times as you want for whatever you want and remain confident that he will always love you.

That said, I want to take a deeper look at what prayer can be about. This week I want to move on from James 1:1 and go into verses 2-4, which say:

Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

You know that I don't sugarcoat the Bible. James is writing to poor, oppressed, struggling disciples of Jesus. Notice that he doesn't write down to them, but addresses them as his brothers and sisters in Christ. He knows, firsthand, the cost of discipleship.

But you might be wondering: How can we rejoice when our kids are hungry? When we have unpayable debts? After losing a court case because the judge was bribed?

Scot McKnight, in his NICNT Commentary on James, explains that James is addressesing real-life, unjust hardships:

James mentions these manifestations of persecution: stresses connected to economic poverty (1:9, 27; 2:15–16), favoritism for the wealthy and against the poor (2:1–4, 9), economic abuse and injustice (2:5–7), blasphemy of Jesus Christ by those with sufficient political power (2:7), and economic exploitation of the poor by the rich (5:1–6).

The Bible doesn't shy away from acknowledging injustice and evil.

But James is offering a radical perspective: with God's help, we can see these extreme difficulties as opportunities for growth. In a trial, we are placed in the same situation that Jesus endured. If we face them with the goal of imitating Christ and becoming like Him, then the trial cannot defeat us.

So what does this have to do with prayer?

James is straightforwardly explaining how to deal with the greatest trials in life.

He says that with God’s help, we can see these extreme difficulties as a gift in disguise. In a trial, we are placed in the same situation that Jesus endured. If we face them with the goal of imitating Christ and becoming like Him, then the trial cannot defeat us.

A landlord can take your home, but she can't take your heart. An employer can fire you, but he can't take your faith. A judge can fine you, but she can't keep you from following Jesus.

When I think of this kind of steadfast faith in the midst of suffering, the leaders of the Montgomery Bus Boycott come to mind: Jo Ann Robinson, Claudette Colvin, Mary Louise Smith, E.D. Nixon, and of course, Rosa Parks.

When they participated in the Montgomery Bus Boycott for thirteen long months, they had to rely on God to get them through. Prayer meetings at Holt Street and Dexter Avenue Baptist Churches kept the community going. Their actions embodied James's teaching—they faced their trials with joy, allowing their faith to produce perseverance.

Before they acted, it was impossible to imagine a city in Alabama running integrated bus service. How could a community's decision to peacefully start walking to work bring about social change? The nonviolent approach was an exceedingly strange way to protest generational injustice.

As ​Dr. King​ said after the busses were integrated, "We came to see that, in the long run, it is more honorable to walk in dignity than ride in humiliation. So … we decided to substitute tired feet for tired souls, and walk the streets of Montgomery."

When I think of the Civil Rights movement, the honor, dignity, and moral stature of its leaders is the first thing that comes to mind. When they directly confronted economic and social injustice with the power of courageous faith, they became mature and complete, not lacking anything. By God's grace, they even achieved their goal: an integrated bus system.

Let me close by holding up a mirror to our hearts.

Are we coming to God as religious consumers, wanting him to make us happy and pampered?

Then no matter how fervently we pray, we aren't aligned with the purpose of prayer.

Are we coming to God as faithful disciples of Jesus, needing his help to stay faithful amidst suffering?

Then even if we can barely pray, we can trust that God is actively at work in our lives.

The best gift that God can give us is the gift of imitating Christ.

But is that what we are asking him to give us?

Image from Wikipedia Commons.