We, particularly those of us with a western mindset, are trained to be good at fixing problems. That is how things get done.
But when it comes to praying, perhaps we do the same thing - working out how a problem might be solved, and then asking the Lord to make that solution come true.Either that, or we may be so frazzled by a problem that we are incapable of thinking coherently at all; as a result our prayers neither have focus nor conviction.
As always, the Scriptures help us to see how godly people approached matters that were too large for them.
Hannah, despised by her love rival, childless and desperate to have a baby, simply, ".. poured out her soul to the Lord" (1 Samuel 1:15).
Moses, a wanted murderer turned reclusive shepherd, could not see how he could possibly do God's work, in Exodus 3. By Exodus 33 he knew the task was impossible without God. Moses begged Him not to send him out unless God went with them.
King Jehoshaphat, facing the annihilation of Judah by superior military forces in 2 Chronicles 20, gathered everybody in the nation and prayed publicly, "We do not know what to do but our eyes are upon You".
Gideon, who was told to eliminate the Midianites in Judges 6, protested his weakness. He simply received the assurance that God would be with him to achieve what had been commanded.
Daniel, facing a death sentence if he prayed to God in Daniel 6, opened his windows so that people could see, and prayed morning, noon and night. His experience in the lions' den is well known and even the king said that God had rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.
Paul the apostle, deserted and alone at the end of his life, said in 2 Timothy 4 that the Lord stood at his side during his trial and he was initially "delivered from the lion's mouth".
None of these people knew what the answer was, but they presented their problems to the Lord. None of them were confident in themselves but knew that only the Lord could do what was needed ... and despite their distress, desperation and weakness they were willing to place the matter into the Lord's hands.
An independent spirit is very unhelpful in the spiritual life. Inventing the solution and asking God to action our command is not the way forward. Why is it that we are obsessed with creating a future from our own imagination? Why do we love working out the mechanics of how a problem is to be solved?
Perhaps it is just an extension of everyday practical living in which, if we need a meal to feed the family, a holiday for our enjoyment, a repair to our home, we must make it happen. If we do not, then nobody else will. It is hard-wired into us that competent problem-solving and practical action is the mark of responsible adulthood. And for matters under our control, and within our responsibility, it is.
But, as God challenged Job in Job chapters 38-41, there is very much more that is not at our command. And whatever we think about it we cannot see the wood for the trees or have the ability to grasp what is too big for us. Sometimes, we do not even know the right question to ask, let alone think of the answer.
Wisdom, for Job, was seen in his repentance of arrogance and praying compassionately for his unhelpful friends in Job chapter 42.
Wisdom for us is likewise: to accept our weakness and defer to God's strength; to put every matter before Him without telling Him what to do or how to do it; to humbly accept that His ways are higher than ours and trust Him to do what is best.
It may seem simple, weak or uncreative, but where the matter is beyond us God does not need our bright ideas, solutions or timetables.
Learning to obey the Lord, where we cannot see or understand, trusting Him to do immeasurably more that all we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20) ... that is the way forward.
Just give Him the matter and be willing to let Him have His way and do His will in His time.