Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Big G, but Little God

I read an article the other day in which the writer talk about how he had once prayed for $500, thinking that was about all God could give him at that time, but he went to a conference and heard a man talking about praying for the impossible, like a cure for cancer in his lifetime. Since that time, great strides have been made toward a cure for cancer.

The thing is, if we truly believe that nothing is impossible for God, why aren’t we praying for bigger things? By that, I don’t mean that we should be greedy with our prayers and pray for the new Porsche when the used Impala will do. And while it is good to pray for peace in Jerusalem and world peace and freedom to preach the gospel in China—all of which the Lord can do in his time—I question why we aren’t applying this principle to things a little closer to home.

How often do we sit around talking about why God doesn’t answer our prayers rather than being confident when we go to him? If we know we are asking amiss, that is one thing, but when we feel we have a real need or that we are asking for something that is not harmful to us, why spend so much time conditioning ourselves for God not to answer our prayers instead of trusting that he wants to give us what we ask or to give us something better. There’s nothing we can request that is beyond his power. Perhaps we see ourselves as more spiritual because we’re willing to admit our failings and desire for things that we shouldn’t have, but could it be that what we’re really doing is making God too small?