Big Faith, Big Prayers

I was praying to God one day and I really wanted to ask God for something, something big, but I just didn't think it would happen. So I modified my request and tried to make it "realistic", and that's when the Holy Spirit began to speak to me: "You're not praying by faith!"

Often times we as Christians go to God in prayer and we pray in ways in which we have no way to measure if God is answering our prayers, and there are several reasons for this. Sometimes we don't want to face the disappoint and difficult questions. If I pray "Lord, heal my sick Aunt" and God doesn't heal her we fear that we'll begin to doubt God and question His goodness. Maybe we don't want to get our hopes up only to be let down. Maybe we just don't think we're justified coming in front of the throne of glory and asking such a bold request.

But in all those questions I believe that we lose sight of what the purpose of prayer really is. Jesus says "Cast all your burdens on me" and "My yoke is easy and my burden is light". God says "turn to Me, and live". These two statements reflect the true importance of prayer. Prayer is an act of faith, an act of trusting in the awesome power of God, trusting that He cares about our daily struggles and that He loves us and has enough power to do something about it.

When I pray a "realistic" prayer I'm really fearing that God won't answer my big prayer, but this is where we need a big faith. We worship the God who made the universe, we worship the God who raised Himself from the dead, the God who made a virgin give birth. Our prayers shouldn't be limited to what is "realistic" because we don't serve a God bound by what our minds consider to be realistic, we serve a God who "...is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine".

Perhaps you fear the disappointment of an unanswered prayer. Even in this we should ask and have the faith that God, as our Heavenly Father, knows best. Paul prayed repeatedly for relief from what he called a "thorn in the flesh" and God didn't heal him. Instead "...he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'". Even in His "no" answers God gives the strength and the knowledge to carry on and live this Christian life victoriously.

So let's not fear to ask God for the desires of our heart. Let's align our will to His, let's pray for things only He can do, and let's trust God to answer as He sees fit. Let's not try to limit what God can do, let's trust in a God who answers big prayers.