Over the last several days I have learned a lot about myself but I have also learned a lot about prayer. I think I am growing in my faith in prayer and hopefully in strategy as well.
I heard a guy once explain that saying “I guess all we can do now is pray” is like saying “my pistol, rifle, shotgun, bazooka, and tank are all out of ammunition, I guess I better pull out the nuclear bomb.” We have a prayer as a last resort sort of mindset that forgets that it’s probably our most potent tool.
In December Jerra has lost the diamond from her wedding ring. While I wish I was able to buy her a diamond that is easy to find because it is as big as a rock this is not the case so we spent a week searching for the sparkly grain of sand around our house. I had searched the entire house in the dark with a flash light hoping to catch a glimpse of the sparkle but never did. Hours crawling around on my belly wasted. The next step was to put a new bag on the vacuum (it probably needed done anyway) and see what happened, but I didn’t want to do that so I decided I would sweep the kitchen first. As I swept I prayed maybe the most honest prayer I have ever prayed. “God I don’t know if you even work like this, but I have heard others tell about lost keys and stuff that they prayed about and found, so it would mean a lot to me and to Jerra if we could find this diamond.” I found the diamond within seconds of the prayer leaving my mouth and I spent the rest of the time sweeping trying to wrap my head around what just happened.1 Did God just find the diamond for me? How had I missed it all the other times I looked I the same spot? Now what am I supposed to do if my prayer actually worked?
For me that day was the start of something that I have not totally figured out yet but I like where it is going. The Bible talks about praying with expectation and I don’t think I did that much. I knew God was capable just not sure he cared enough for me. I think this effected the way I prayed, what I prayed for, and how often I prayed. Praying every hour for the last several days as shown me again the power in prayer and I want to start praying offensively instead of defensively. Here is what I mean. Most of us probably pray reactionary prayers, this person is sick, this thing needs fixed. There is nothing wrong with them but it’s probably only half of the equation. What if we prayed proactive prayers. Can we pray things into existence? Can we pray in anticipation of what God could do? Could we pray in such a way that we give God the opportunity to surprise us, to blow us away with grace and with His creativity?
I want to find out. What are you praying about now that is bigger than you?
1 Also it should be noted that I never changed the vacuum bag and probably still haven’t.
Matt Murphy is the Lead Pastor at Arkeo Church and writes on his blog everyday
