Pleading the Mercy!
When someone you know has taken some ill-advised turns in life and then comes up against some degree of crisis, how do you pray?
I’ll confess that sometimes I pray rather consequentially. “Lord, so & so has done such & such and now the consequences have arrived. Plow deeply, Lord, that he/she may learn the lessons well and not take those ill-advised turns in the future.” You will notice that my attention is on the consequences. I suppose I view them as needful instruments of instruction and discipline.
How much better if I would plead the mercy: “Lord, because You are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness… I ask You to dispense copious amounts of mercy upon so & so who is now facing the consequences for those ill-advised choices. Win the day with Your mercy, for mercy triumphs over judgment.”
As to my two ways of praying, I think the Lord finds the latter prayer much more akin to His heart.