“It
is absolutely imperative at the outset that you come to terms with this simple
yet life-changing truth: God is for
you. If you don’t believe that, then
you’ll pray small timid prayers; if you do believe it, then you’ll pray big
audacious prayers. And one way or
another, your small timid prayers or big audacious prayers will change the
trajectory of your life and turn you into two totally different people. Prayers are prophecies. They are the best predictors of your
spiritual future. Who you become is
determined by how you pray. Ultimately,
the transcript of your prayers becomes the script of your life.”
How would your life be different if you suddenly realized that you had the incredible power of God, the same power that resurrected him from the grave, at your disposal? What would our prayer lives look like if we all became smitten, bold, and obedient to the call we have for all of us to follow the example of Jesus like the apostle Paul did? He had a vision for the church that was impossibly….visionary! He was consumed by it.
“…I am focusing all my energies on this one thing; Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize…” Phillipians 4:13-14
“…I
have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have
Christ and become one with him….As a result, I can really know Christ and
experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead…” Philippians 3:8-10
What
is consuming your thoughts today? Or
more importantly who? Is Christ anywhere
in there? Do you pray big audacious prayers?
No? Do you not think that God has
big audacious plans for you and for the church?
Yes? Are they your plans, or
God’s? Ouch.
There
is a book written by Jim Collins that business types love to quote called “Good
to Great”. In it, Collins stresses the
importance of setting “Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals”, or BHAG’s. These are, according to Collins, needed to
motivate individuals or companies onward and upward toward the seemingly
impossible. Without these goals, the
business peaks, then declines, and eventually dies.
Well
in the church, how about we actually pray for the impossible? How about we pray about things that are
absolutely humanly impossible regardless of how much skill, money, fortune,
education or manpower we have? Do you
believe that God answers our Big Hairy Audacious Prayers? Our very own
BHAP’s? I’m beginning to. And the boldness that comes from knowing him
is just the kind of thing that should lead us to believe that he is the God of
amazing results when we put our confidence fully in him. He works, not only within our human
experience, but he works outside of it, beyond anything that we could possibly
comprehend. And he does it all on behalf
of those who love him. There is no
natural law to restrain or control him.
And Paul actually teaches strange things like “…beyond all we could ask
or think…”, or “…wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against powers and
principalities”.
How
can we expect to succeed in such things if we keep bringing our peashooter
smart-sounding prayers to a spiritual tank battle? Want to change the world? Become a man or woman of constant
prayer. Become one of the embers that
God is scraping together with so many others and getting ready to set
ablaze. Become one of the “quiet
uprising of the broken”. All of this
begins by….you guessed it….waiting. He
will direct our prayers, and if we’re not listening and quiet, our prayers will
be timid. The key to understanding this
is by waiting. Don’t hear me wrong here,
read your Bible, fast often, meet with your small group, come to church, but
wait on the Lord while you’re doing these things. Call out to him constantly, asking for the
mind of Christ in all things.
“I pray that you will begin to understand the
incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised
Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right
hand…” Ephesians 1:19-20a
“God help us today to begin to consider your call on our lives to make you our everything. We can’t do that without you. In the power of your Spirit that resides in us, gently begin to break down anything within us and among us in the church which limits, crowds out, or rejects the fullness of the love and power that you have made available to us today. Help us to walk in that confidence together in the body. Cause us to believe. Drive out our fears and pride and unbelief. Place on our minds and in our hearts the things that matter to you so we can begin to pray with great purpose and become witnesses to your amazing work among us. Thank you Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
- Doug Bishop
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