No strings attached

Doesn't it seem that so many so called good deals come with the qualifying phrase "no strings attached"?  To me that implies that there is no hidden agenda, no facts left out, all is on the table, and it is an up and up deal.  One of the best "deals" around is another term we hear fairly often....unconditional love.  I've written about that before in the context of the dogs we have owned and the lessons they have shared with me by just being dogs....they have all just plain loved unconditionally....no expectations, no agendas, no strings attached.  Like God...and there surely must be some irony there simply because of the spelling (dog is God, backwards).

I was listening to a gentleman (who had a very colorful background) sharing some of his story.  And the more I listened to the short interview, the more enthralled in it I became, and the more I became certain that through that conversation some truths were being opened to me about my own way of doing Christianity.  You see, the gentleman was sharing that he had always been somewhat of a "bargainer", "pleader", and "let's make a dealer" in his prayers.  For the most part he would offer to do this or that if the Lord answered his prayer.  Something like "I will change this about me if....", or "I will go do this if....", and the like.  Getting the picture here?  And then he changed, as will be noted further on.

It got me to thinking about myself as the conversation progressed.  Through introspection as a result of listening to this I was able to see that yes I have done a lot of the same.  Perhaps not outright, but surely by having at times some "hidden agendas" not talked about in my conversations with God.  There has been stuff said and unsaid during prayers, quite probably more than I would like.

Here is what the man shared that really caught my attention...about the tiny little change he made in his prayer life.  All he did was offer himself up to the Lord to be a servant...to do what God wanted him to do, go where he wanted him to go...with no strings attached.  No begging, no bartering, no pleading.  Just "tell me what to do, show me where to go...I am committed."  And it was at that point that many, many positive changes came about in his life, his perspective, and his relationships.  And it was nothing short of a miracle given the guys history.

It was as simple as that...."take me, I am yours...lead me and I will follow...do with me what you will, I will obey.  This whole conversation really struck me as I considered my own prayer life.  I've always been an outspoken proponent of a simple conversational prayer life.  Just a chat between God and me.  Because of the fact that this conversation seems to have really grabbed me in such a way that it felt very relevant to me, I can only assume that my prayer life hasn't been simple enough....that there have been strings attached, that I have bargained and pleaded more than I ever knew.  God loves us...no strings attached.  I need to reciprocate in the same way...with no strings attached.

How about you?  Do you ever just take the simple way out and just say "here I am Lord, take me and use me however you want to....I will follow"?