One of my favorite Disney movies is Aladdin. It has an interesting story, and Robin Williams adds a lot of humor to the film. The movie shows how a single wish can change someone’s life for better or worse.
We all have our own wants and desires and if we are Christians, most of us have prayed at some point for God to grant our wishes. Even the Apostles James and John had a wish that they wanted Jesus to grant. Their wish was to sit at Jesus’ left and right in Heaven. This is a pretty big wish! The way they approached Jesus was also pretty direct and bold. They said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
How often do we treat God as a genie, begging, pleading, and even demanding that He give us what we want? I know I’ve done that in the past. I’ve even been particular about wording my request just the right way so it wouldn’t get misunderstood, as if God doesn’t know what I really want.
Over time, I’ve learned that it’s not “my will be done”, but “thy will be done”. God wants us to bring our desires to Him and He loves to grant our wishes too. The problem is that sometimes what we want isn’t what God wants for us. While we might want life to go one direction, we need to be willing to accept life going in a completely different direction. We should communicate our wants and desires to God, but also listen to what He says in response. God ultimately knows what’s best for us and so listening to Him will help us in the long run.
Communication is the key to strengthening any relationship, and prayer is essentially communication with God. There are many forms of prayer, and we should incorporate a variety when we talk to Him. If our only conversation with God is us asking Him for something, our relationship will be strained. In Aladdin, notice how Aladdin and Genie develop a friendly relationship beyond just the wishes. In contrast, Jafar only has a transactional “what can you do for me” relationship with Genie when he gains the lamp.
We also need to ensure we aren’t always asking for selfish things in our prayers. It’s common to say, “I’ll keep you in my prayers” when someone is going through tough times. But do we actually pray for the person, or is it just something we say to make them feel better? The souls in purgatory desperately need our prayers because they can’t pray for themselves. By praying for a soul in purgatory, we speed their journey to Heaven. When we pray for others, they receive grace. We might not always see the fruits of our prayers, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t helping. Even if our specific request for someone isn’t granted, they will still benefit spiritually from our prayers.
The best friendship we can have is a friendship with Jesus. While He always wants what’s best for us, we can’t take advantage of Him and use Him for personal gain. We should constantly work on growing our relationship with Jesus, and that requires selfless love. Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve. Let’s strive to have a servant’s heart and help make other people’s wishes come true. If we do, our ultimate wish and desire will be fulfilled. We may not be sitting at the right hand of Jesus, but we will be with Him in paradise for eternity.
