Dave writes…
Sometimes–most of the time–we aren’t sure what God wants us to do or what His plans are for us. When God’s unknown will is met by our most intense desires, it can be hard to know what we should be striving for. This journey is no exception for us.

Are we supposed to pray for a pregnancy specifically through IUI on the first try and believe that it definitely will happen? What if we are wrong? Would we be able to cope with that kind of disappointment? Would it make us angry at God?

Or should we ask for nothing, expect nothing, and thank God for what we have? Should we set the bar low so we don’t ever have to want anything (at the cost of killing the desires we have)?

Or should we turn to the example Jesus set for us in the Garden of Gethsemane. Mark 14:36 says… <blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”</blockquote>Jesus knows at the point he is in the garden that his desires don’t necessarily line up with the will of the Father, yet he still asks for them! He doesn’t meet God half-way. He doesn’t ask for a painless or quick death as a compromise. He asks for his fullest desire, and that desire was to be able to avoid the hurt he was about to experience.

The most important part of the verse comes at the end with the words “Yet not what I will, but what you will.” While Jesus had his own desires he still acknowledged and submitted to the will of the Father.

This makes the answer pretty clear for us. We shouldn’t pray for the IUI to work as if we are able to speak a baby into existence, but at the same time we shouldn’t give up hope on our desires. We should pray fully for our desire to have a child; we should pray in every moment that we would conceive at the soonest opportunity, having the knowledge and faith that God can work in any situation. And then at the same time, we should be praying above all else that God’s will be accomplished. As Paul says in Philippians 4:6…
<blockquote>…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.</blockquote>So our prayer is that on May 28th we would conceive and eventually give birth to a healthy baby. More importantly, though, we want our desire to align with God’s will, because we know that what he wants is the best thing for us. We are utterly thankful for all that He has blessed us with (each other, the home we are His tenants of, our astonishingly loving and involved family), and we want our desire known to Him that we would love to honor Him through raising a son or daughter in the next generation of believers who will also one day bring glory to His name!

Elaine writes…
I struggled a long time this afternoon trying to figure all this out and here my husband has spoken my heart beautifully and written exactly what I wanted to say!

So, now I (we) plead with you to please pray with us that on May 28th we will conceive but that, most importantly, God will be glorified in and through this entire process, however long or short it may be.

The words prayer warrior come to mind. Do you know one? I know many. We know there are many, many family members and friends that are already praying for us and we are forever grateful. I ask that you think of the prayer warrior(s) you know and ask them also to pray on our behalf. Let’s flood the gates of heaven! We will use this blog to list specific ways you can pray for this situation.

We stand together, trusting in the sovereignty of the Lord, and we ask that you would all stand with us in support, anticipating and expecting something wonderful because God is faithful.

- Elaine