A young lady stopped me as I was walking downtown today. She asked, “Excuse me, but do you have 50 cents for me to catch the bus?”
I handed the young lady the amount she requested and she looked in her hand and back at me as if to say “That’s all you got.”
My immediate thought was “That’s all you asked for.”
Then it hit me, how does that correlate with my prayers? I could hear God saying… “That’s all you asked for.” I think about all of the prayers that I’ve prayed that I limited what God could have given to me because my prayer was too small.
Why are there moments that we don’t pray BIG PRAYERS? Is it because we did not think about it or are we afraid of what the outcome would be? Whether the prayer is big or small, it will be answered. The answer may not be what we want, but we know that God wants the best for us and sometimes the answer is “no” or “not right now”. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Big Prayers
I’ve prayed big prayers and the answer was “yes”. I’ve also prayed big prayers and the answer was a resounding “no” (with or without an explanation). I needed to grow and learn through the process. He was not going to take the thorn away because of the poor financial decisions I had made. Although my answer was no at that time, it doesn’t prevent me from continuing to pray big prayers.
We have a limitless God who wants to do big things in our lives, but we must trust Him with our big prayers. He is waiting with open arms for us to seek Him and open hands to bless us. And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is (Ephesians 3:18 ERV).
Assurance
We can be assured that Romans 8:28 (MSG) reminds us that “Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, and our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”
Never find yourself in a position where the response is “That’s all you asked for”.