First Blog

Point of View; you’re in bed, ready to get a good night’s sleep, but your mind is racing with big ideas, exciting plans and dreams for the future. Like the diligent Christian you are, you decide to come to God in prayer with these mind ponderings. You rationalize your thoughts, gently listing off the things you wish will happen (yet remaining highly realistic and pragmatic) and then finish off the prayer with something of the classic; “if it be Your will, Amen.” Feeling adequately more content, you drift off into a deep sleep. Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this scene, in fact, it paints a picture of a humble Christian making his or her desires known to God. However, what if the heart behind this common phrase comes from a place of timidness rather than biblical humility? Of course, this is a hypothetical “what if,” but it is still interesting to ponder. Is it possible that we can sometimes be afraid of presenting the raw desires of our heart to God? Are we subconsciously dialing down our fervor when we pray, to protect us from the possible disappointment of unanswered prayers?  

Here lies two problems:

The first major issue of praying safely is that it secretly does not expect God to move mightily. A prayer request that is buffered with apprehension not only neglects the gravity of our true desires but it also dampens our perception of who God is and what He can do. 

Secondly, safe prayers are not great at exercising bold faith.

Yikes! 

Being the loving and gentle God that His is, he understands our fear in making bold requests, but He also asks us to step out in faith so that His greatness may be known. The Roman officer in Matthew 8 demonstrates this sort of audacious faith when he asks Jesus to heal his paralyzed servant. Jesus agrees to come to his house where his servant resides, but without missing a beat the officer responds, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed” (verse 8). In this story, the power and authority of God is fully recognized. Not only does this demonstrate the greatness of God, but it is a reminder that our prayer posture should reflect exactly that.  

Certainly there will be times in this audacious prayer life where you may feel like you hear crickets on God’s side of the line. But remember, He is not an idle God who overlooks our cries. He is the God “who sees” as exclaimed by Haggar in the wilderness, He is the God who performs great miracles of abundance, and He is the same God who made the sun stand still for Joshua in the heat of battle. 

Dear God, align our hearts with your purposes so that we may pray boldly in light of Who you are and what You can do. Amen.