“Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’” Luke 11:1 (ESV)
When was your last prayer for? Was it for food? Was it for a home? Was it for something material? Was it for something that was in your power to do? OR was it a BOLD prayer? A prayer that only God could answer? I know you probably think I am crazy right?
I was reading a daily devotional that talked about how often we pray for things and then go get or take care of it ourselves. Think about this story written by another blogger on return from her trip to Haiti:
“You see, here in America, we bow our heads and say grace and ask God to ‘give us this day our daily bread.’ And then? We hop in our cars, run down to the grocery store and buy a loaf or two. We ask Him to keep us safe and warm. Then parents buy their kids the best car seats available, and we crank up the furnace whenever we feel chilly. It is so easy in our culture to provide the answer to our own prayers. But the people I met on the trip? They pray God will give them their daily bread, not knowing if they will have enough food to feed their families that night. Their prayers are bold. They ask God for things they can’t always provide for themselves.”
This actually stopped me in my tracks! It is true, we have an abundance of things in this disposable society and I believe that we need to share that blessing with others. But the real question is “do I pray BOLD prayers, asking God for the things that only He can bring about?” Or do we do the routine of “Lord, keep us safe and warm and well-fed. Amen.”?
I am so excited about a vision God has give me and I will share in upcoming blogs. The truth is that it is only going to come to fruition is with God’s help. It is bold. It is BIG. It is a DREAM that I have only wished for and never thought would happen. I am giving my prayer life a makeover!!!
By praying boldly, I have to then stand back and have FAITH in him and let him work in and through me. That is a HUGE leap of faith for me. The bold prayer is the first step. Following it with FAITH that great things done only in His great strength is even bolder.
How about you? What is on your prayer list and can you cross them off yourself? If so, then maybe it is time for the BOLD prayer. Join me in praying more confident prayers that can’t be answered on our own and can only happen through God’s power.
Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!
Hope Wissel 