Big Prayers

In the film, “Bruce Almighty,” Jim Carrey plays a TV reporter from Buffalo, NY who gets angry with God and wishes he could be God. His request is granted and he is given divine authority over just one city! (It’s a comedy film, people. OK?) As the prayers come flooding in, he is overwhelmed by them, even though most are about trivial matters like winning the lottery! He decides to answer everyone with a ‘Yes,’ and chaos soon follows. He realizes that being God is much more than just dispensing favors.

Our greatest privilege as Christian disciples is prayer! Our prayers are not just about getting God to give us what we want right now. Our prayers are about becoming part of His work in this world, about bringing His will into existence, seeing His reign extended. Let me ask you, are your prayers timid and tentative? Do you carefully surround each and every request with qualifying phrases and give God loopholes so you won't be disappointed if He doesn't ‘come through' for you? Enough of that!

The Sovereign Lord of the Universe invites us to "approach the throne of grace with confidence, and … find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16, NIV) Jesus taught us that we are given access directly to God because of Him! "Ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy." (John 16:23-24, NLT)

Are you confused about praying?
Do you think that going to God and asking boldly is somehow impolite, disrespectful?
Wrong! I hope you’re not just whining to Him about making your life easier, about keeping the weeds from growing in your yard, about taking away consequences of short-sighted or foolish choices you made, or about giving you more money! He invites us into a rich conversation about growing deep in the life of the Spirit, overcoming sin and Satan, defeating forces of anarchy and evil!

The greater issue is not WHAT we pray for, but WHY we are praying for it. If we use the privilege of prayer to beg for more comfort and more things just to feed our selfish wants, God will refuse our petition. James explains that our motives need to be aligned with God’s purposes. He writes "...the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong— you want only what will give you pleasure." (James 4:2-3, NLT) But if we ask for Him to do those things in us and with us and through us that cause His Name to be awesome in the eyes of the world, He is honored by our petition. He reserves the right to answer according to plans and purposes that we are incapable of knowing this side of Eternity. Remember a 'no' from our Father is surely as much an answer as a 'yes.'

Step back from the activity of life! Get alone with God and get honest in prayer. Listen to what your heart cry is.

Is it aligned with God's great purposes for you?
Is it filled with worship, giving Him pleasure with adoration?
Is it marked by love of His family as you pray for your church and your pastor be empowered by a fresh experience of God’s Holy Spirit?
Is it marked with humble confession and petitions for power and wisdom to live a Christ-like life?
It is an expression of your desire to be used of God to do His will in your daily life?
Are you asking the Spirit to draw your friends, family, and neighbors to Himself, saving them from death and sin's destruction?

No more weak, timid prayers! Pray His purposes confidently.
Go stand on the front steps of your house and gaze at your neighbor's homes. Tell the Lord that you want them for His kingdom and ask Him to give you opportunities and the courage to exploit the moment to bring them the knowledge of the immense love that the Father has for them.
Lift up your teen-age son every day, asking God to make clear what lies at the ends of the diverging paths that boy is facing.

Give up your need to control the world and put yourself in the hands of your Father, so that you can enjoy the wholeness of life that belongs to you as a child of Heaven and live with joy despite the tensions of life.

Here’s a word from the Word. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He gave them this model. We pray it often, word for word, which is fine, but it is actually more like a template for our own prayers. As you read it today, see if your conversation with the Lord of Glory show the same kind of worship, confession, petition that are part of Jesus’ prayer.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’" (Matthew 6:9-13, NIV)

___________________

Oh, let the Son of God enfold you
With His Spirit and His love,
Let Him fill your heart
And satisfy your soul.
Oh, let Him have
Those things that hold you,
And His Spirit, like a dove,
Will descend upon your life
And make you whole.

Oh, come and sing this song with gladness
As your hearts are filled with joy,
Lift your hands in sweet surrender
To His name.
Oh, give Him all your tears and sadness,
Give Him all your years of pain,
And you'll enter into life in Jesus' name.

Jesus, oh Jesus,
Come and fill Your lambs.
Jesus, oh Jesus,
Come and fill Your lambs.

Spirit Song
Wimber, John

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