I ask God for a lot of things.  Tonight I asked him to allow my son to get a hit in his baseball game.  He crushed the ball for a nice double.  The problem is that often what I want (or think I want) is not necessarily what God wants.  God reminded me of this when I opened the Bible today:

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.  Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”  He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Matthew 16:21-23

Jesus knew the plan for Him was going to be painful, and that most would run from it as fast as they could.  As humans, we often run from God’s plan because we think in the human world and what will benefit us now.  Jesus, knowing that His future will be hard and painful, rebukes Peter for suggesting that He not go through with the plan.  He calls Peter satan.  Satan tries to turn us from God’s plan, particularly when it may be hard.  Satan tempts us to take the easy route, which may not be the route God has planned.

Dear God,

Thy will be done!