What prayer is not

Prayer is not going to God, intending to make Him run our errands. We must understand that God is sovereign; He rules and reigns overall, and that we have the privilege to approach Him in Prayer does not give us the right to order God around. We show up in His presence, beholding His face and waiting on Him.   Sometime in my life, God asked me: "Anne, if your domestic staff, your driver, for instance, comes to you in the morning and gives you a list of where he wants you to go, how would you react?" I was like, "that isn't happening. It would be the driver telling me he no longer wants his job as it is not in his terms of reference to tell me where to go."   God spoke to my heart and said, "but that is what you do when you come to me with your list of what you need from me. You act as though I work for you." Not being one to let go of thought quickly, I opined, "but you said I could command you concerning the work of your hands. I could make my requests known, and I could come to you with my strong arguments." He responded by sending me back to the scripture I quoted. I came out of that exercise, realizing my folly and acknowledging that God's ways were way higher than man's and His foolishness wiser than the most intelligent man's.