The Prayer of Indifference
As we move into the throes of election season, I find myself feeling a bit nervous. I’m far less concerned about whether or not my candidate(s) win as I am about the unrest that will likely come with the election results. We will hop on our phones and televisions over the coming weeks to watch debates and speeches, and then we will stay on those devices to hear people’s reactions and hot takes on those debates and speeches.
Many of us have our political stances; the stories we have lived and experienced, along with our reasoning and those whom we really listen to, have massive effects on those stances. In worship services, we will hear people regularly pray for our nation and the present and future leaders, and I think this is a good thing. Scripture even invites us to pray these kinds of prayers (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
You might find yourself feeling anxious about this election. You might find yourself feeling anxious about other feelings or decisions that you or others will be making in the near future. It is when these types of decisions come up that I am reminded of a question that I have been asked by my spiritual director, which is also a question that I have asked my own directees in the past.
Before I share that question, I’d like to give a very brief and probably underwhelming explanation of spiritual direction. It’s often confused with pastoral counseling, moral guidance, biblical teaching, or even discipling. Though all of these are very good things to search for and have in life, they would not be considered spiritual direction.
David Benner, a psychologist and spiritual guide, describes spiritual direction as the following:
“A prayer process in which a person seeking help in cultivating a deeper personal relationship with God meets with another for prayer and conversation that is focused on increasing awareness of God in the midst of life experiences and facilitating surrender to God’s will.” (Sacred Companions, p. 94)
Spiritual direction invites us to ask good questions and to constantly search for the presence and movement of God in our lives so that we may more deeply participate in that movement. With that being said, the aforementioned question is this:
Do you want what God wants… or do you want to be right?
I should acknowledge that, occasionally, these two are one and the same, but if we are being honest with ourselves, this isn’t the case as often as we would like for it to be.
As followers of Christ, we ultimately want what God wants. So how do we figure out exactly what that is? While neither I nor anyone else knows exactly what that is every time, there is time and space to discern and arrive at what that could be.
Ruth Haley Barton writes about the prayer of indifference as a help in this regard. This is where we pray for God to make us indifferent toward anything other than His will—nothing more and nothing less. She says:
“This kind of indifference and willingness was Mary’s response when the angel came to her and told her that she would give birth to the Messiah. ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word’ (Luke 1:38). It was Jesus’ prayer after He had struggled in the garden of Gethsemane: ‘Not my will but yours be done’ (Luke 22:42).” (Pursuing God’s Will Together, pp. 42-43)
Maybe you are a minister or shepherd or some other kind of church leader. Maybe you are someone who has a job that requires you to make decisions that affect the jobs and/or lives of many people. Maybe you are a concerned citizen entering into an election season. Regardless of where you find yourself, you have your opinions on how things should be or go.
In this season of your life, may you search for the will of God before you search to prove yourself right. May an attitude of love and kindness be more valued and important to you than being correct. May you pray the prayer of indifference for yourself and those whom you work with. Finally, may God’s Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
