Pray With Boldness.....
"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
Not in every home, but in most.....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 in the mission field, when people will pray for God to 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.
I have recently been thinking of this and how so many times I feel I am asking God for what I already can and do take care of myself because He has already provided the way. Why do we continue to ask for what He has already given? Some of us could use a makeover in our prayer life. Luke 11:1 reminds us that even the disciples wanted help learning how to pray. They saw Jesus praying and desired to follow His example. Ephesians 3:20-21 tells us God can do things we can’t even dream of. Even provide answers to questions that we often hesitate to even ask. This suggests we can be daring when we pray, asking God for great things done only in His great strength. Make bold requests that you can’t possibly answer yourself, then, stand back and....in faith....watch Him work!
Our most gracious Father, teach us to pray more boldly. May we be both generous in giving and faith-filled in our prayers. Help us to pray more confident prayers that can’t be answered on our own and can only happen through Your power. In Jesus’ Name I make this plea, Amen.
Not in every home, but in most.....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 in the mission field, when people will pray for God to 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.
I have recently been thinking of this and how so many times I feel I am asking God for what I already can and do take care of myself because He has already provided the way. Why do we continue to ask for what He has already given? Some of us could use a makeover in our prayer life. Luke 11:1 reminds us that even the disciples wanted help learning how to pray. They saw Jesus praying and desired to follow His example. Ephesians 3:20-21 tells us God can do things we can’t even dream of. Even provide answers to questions that we often hesitate to even ask. This suggests we can be daring when we pray, asking God for great things done only in His great strength. Make bold requests that you can’t possibly answer yourself, then, stand back and....in faith....watch Him work!
Our most gracious Father, teach us to pray more boldly. May we be both generous in giving and faith-filled in our prayers. Help us to pray more confident prayers that can’t be answered on our own and can only happen through Your power. In Jesus’ Name I make this plea, Amen.
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