Have you ever prayed to be like Christ? Have you ever prayed to know Christ? Then what have you prayed for? Can you relate to any of these? (According to Isaiah 53 and many other Scriptures)

 To be unattractive

 To be despised and rejected

 To suffer

 To endure pain

 To have others hide their faces

 To be despised

 To be looked down on

 To be betrayed by those closest to you

 To have those close to you think you’re crazy

 To have those who know you lose heart and abandon you in your hour of need

 To bear great responsibility

 To teach people who won’t listen to you

 To have one of your closest friends betray you, then refuse to accept forgiveness

 To not receive the glory due you in this life

 To completely trust the Father when it doesn’t look good

 To have Satan gloat over your “defeat”

 To be alone

 To not indulge in things you have a right to

 To not claim your rights

 To go up against the religious authorities

 To hang out with people the church looks down on

 To be considered radical

 To have even your family think you’re crazy and abandon you

 To have no place to lay your head

 To have to put up with people who think they’re great, when they’re so clueless

 To be so afraid and grieved that your body has intense physical symptoms

 To not make a move without praying and listening to the Father’s voice

 To have to fight off the greatest temptation, which is to do something you’d be completely justified to do and are completely entitled to

 To have those who should be singing your praises actually mocking you and calling for your death

 To be humiliated and embarrassed publicly

 To be falsely accused

 To be punished for doing the right thing or being right

 To be beaten within an inch of your life

 To be poor

 To be hungry and thirsty

 To be misunderstood

 To be without honor

Think of the opposite of each of these points. Isn’t that what we normally pray for? For example, don’t we normally pray for things like being loved, not suffering, being understood by those close to us, and having our needs met? There is nothing wrong with praying that way, because God tells us to bring our needs to Him. However, how many of us have prayed to be like Christ, but then we protest when God allows difficulties to come into our lives? I know I have. Instead, we need to appreciate the opportunities we have to be be conformed into our Savior’s image. So the next time we go through something tough, let’s try to remember to thank God for giving us an opportunity to be more like Christ. It will likely change our perspective, and help us to grow more in our Christian walk than we would have otherwise. I know this is counter-intuitive, but it is the truth.