Audacity
My faith was stoked at the conference I just went to. Maybe that’s why they called it “Faith Lift“. In the true sense of the term, it truly did lift my faith.
There’s a particular manifestation of that lifted faith that’s been following me around since the closing hours of the conference. The display? Audacity. Specifically, audacity in my prayer life.
I forgot which speaker touched on this, but someone said, “What if we prayed in a way where we actually believed God would come through?” Sheesh. That’s convicting. I know many of my prayers seemed to be accompanied by an asterisk:
- Lord, I pray that you would pur your healing light into my son and clear up his tiny little sinuses … *But ultimately, your will be done.
- Lord, I’m asking for wisdom in how to best approach this new opportunity … *Just don’t let me make the wrong decision.
- Lord, change the culture of this place/town/organization. Help us to be one of abundance and not scarcity … *In the meantime, please make sure I’m take care of.
That’s not prayer, that’s posturing! That’s not faith, it’s fear!
What if we prayed like we did when we first believed? Audacious, radical, insane, absurd prayers that could offend anyone within earshot due the scale and size? That’s where I want to do. I want to take God at his word, cast all my cares on him and ask for what’s bouncing through my mind right now. I’ll let him sort out how/if/when they get answered. As a wise friend once said, “it’s your job to ask … It’s not your job to say ‘no.’”
I like that.
What if you prayed and asked God to move and believed he actually would? What would you pray for? What would you ask for? How would your relationship with God change?
I think it’s high-time for more audacious prayer lives. Big, fat, hairy prayers that go beyond our own ability to comprehend what they would look like if they were answered. Remember, God can go beyond what we can think or imagine. So why not try and give him a run for his money?
In light of this, what will you be praying for? Me? I’m asking God to show me how to disperse new media training materials online to Lutheran denominations and congregations. There is such a need.
Please share!
Then you might become a Charismatic Lutheran. =P
This has been a passion of mine for years, glad you are desiring it also.
Believe me, that's not the first time I've heard that term!
There's a danger in dreaming big in your prayers, sometimes you get taken to very small places in your life that are difficult to deal with. You mentioned me as one of the Christian blogs to watch in 2010, I appreciate the compliment but its been one very weird year. God seems to be shrinking my borders more than expanding them right now.
Believe me, that's not the first time I've heard that term!
There's a danger in dreaming big in your prayers, sometimes you get taken to very small places in your life that are difficult to deal with. You mentioned me as one of the Christian blogs to watch in 2010, I appreciate the compliment but its been one very weird year. God seems to be shrinking my borders more than expanding them right now.