Pray big!

Will Davis Jr. says we should "pray big", praying for things that are bigger than we can accomplish on our own.  I think he's right.

The Austin, Texas pastor says in his book Pray Big:

"Prayer should be as big as God's promises and as full as God's resources.  Your requests should require the full power and provision of God."

He makes a convincing case that God is asking us to "pray big".  He refers to Jesus' many promises of answered prayer, including John 15:7: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."

That's a huge commitment by God.  If we remain on God's wavelength, we can count on him giving us whatever we ask, no matter how big.

I have been thinking about that in my own prayer life, realizing my prayers have been pretty small.  So I have started praying more boldly.

Davis refers to the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah in Luke 1.  An angel comes to elderly Zechariah and tells him that a child will be born to them even though they are both very old.  The interesting thing is that he says God is answering their prayers.  Evidently, they had been praying for a long time for this.

John the Baptist's birth to Zechariah and Elizabeth was a miracle.  Zechariah was dumbfounded by the news and because of his surprise and unbelief he was struck dumb until the child's birth.

But Davis uses this example to illustrate his point about praying for something even when it seemed impossible.

Our prayers matter.  God chose Zechariah and Elizabeth to receive this great gift because they had asked him for it.

I take some comfort from this story because Zechariah initially doubted the angel Gabriel when informed that his prayers had been answered.  It does take some faith to pray big - but God is patient with us if our faith is still weak.  I am always encouraged by the story of Gideon in Judges 6-8 where he began as a timid man and wound up as a great warrior of God as the Lord helped his faith to grow.

Our job is to keep praying according to God's promises.

What are big prayers?  They're prayers for people or things that seem impossible to you right now.  Perhaps you are concerned about a friend who resists any talk about Jesus.  Or, another friend has just been diagnosed with cancer.  Or, your church is struggling financially and looks as if it might have to close its doors.

Such prayers teach you to depend on God, says Davis.  They drive you to the Bible to see whether you are on solid biblical ground.  And they increase your faith as God answers.

As I said earlier, I am starting to pray big.  I am learning to ask for things that I considered impossible a while ago.

I'm looking forward to what he is going to do.