We serve a God who can do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine. We know this to be true. We read about seas parting and water flowing from rocks, oil, flour, fish, and bread lasting longer than feasibly possible. But do we believe we can ask the same God we’ve read about to do the same for us?
Do we give ourselves the freedom to ask God for big things? Or are we holding back?
When we hold back our requests, when we pray for things that are safe, easy, likely to happen anyway, things that we may even control ourselves, we are limiting God and, in turn, limiting our faith. We do this for a lot of reasons. We are scared – of not getting what we ask for, and, sometimes, we are actually scared of getting exactly what we ask for.
But getting what we want is not the point of prayer. It’s not even the point of asking for big, seemingly impossible things. The point is living a full life of faith and adventure and the expansive range of emotions and experiences God has in store for us, if we allow ourselves the freedom to ask.
Faith needs to be exercised
The Bible is full of stories of God’s miracles. Of lepers and blind men being healed, of people raised from the dead, of children born to barren mothers and fathers. But it’s not all stories of people getting everything they ask for.
King David begged God to save the life of his infant son to no avail (2 Samuel 12:15-23). God denied the Apostle Paul’s plea to remove the thorn – some unnamed suffering – from his flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). We all know of Job’s suffering. Even Jesus himself asked God to take away his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, and God refused (Matthew 26:36-46).
Why include stories like these? Wouldn’t it be more impressive if God was all miracles all the time? Why display the times God’s people were let down so prominently?
Because no matter the result, no matter God’s answer, when we ask God for big things, we are exercising big faith. We are opening our arms wide and welcoming whatever is his will to give us. We are humbling ourselves, relinquishing our own little bit of control, and trusting that God’s plan for our lives is better than our plan.
Faith needs to be freed
It’s easy to think the days of miracles are over. Mountains aren’t moving. Bushes aren’t burning. Food isn’t falling from the sky. But spend some time reading about the givers we serve, listen to their stories of faithfulness, and you might start to see that God is still answering big prayers every day.
David, Paul, and Job all experienced infinitely more than they could have ever imagined. They may not have gotten what they wanted, but by asking, by exercising deep faith, they lived full lives; they lived the entire breadth of experience God had in store for them. All because they allowed themselves the freedom to open their arms wide and ask.
It’s in those moments when faith is grown, stretched, deepened. It’s in those moments when God has the space to really show up and show off. We just have to remember we serve a God who can do infinitely more than we could ask or imagine. We just have to stop limiting him and give ourselves the freedom to ask for those big things.
After all, he’s told us to do this.
For further study:
- John 14:13–14
- John 15:7
- John 15:16
Heavenly Father,
I am humbled before you, knowing you can do immeasurably more than all I could ask or imagine. When fear or doubt grips my heart and limits both my prayers and my faith, remind me of stories of your infinite faithfulness that I have heard in scripture and from those around me. Give me the courage to ask for the seemingly impossible. Help me to exercise my faith by throwing my arms wide and welcoming all you have planned for my life. I long to have the strength of faith to experience the fullness of my days on earth. Therefore, may my prayers be bold and my faith unwavering. May I listen for your guidance and trust in your divine plan.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Photo: Nathan Dumlao, Unsplash
