Dangerous Prayer . . .

On the whole, we pray pretty safe prayers. On the one hand, we can pray fairly innocuous prayers, such as saying grace before meals or vague requests such as, “God, be with Bob today.” These prayers really don’t require a lot of faith on our part, mainly because, most of the time, we’re not actually communicating anything of substance. I’m not saying these prayers are wrong. I just think that, on some level, God may want us to be a little bolder, a little more forward thinking.

On the other side of the fence, there are those prayers that we can be fairly certain won’t turn out that way we’d really want them to. These would include prayers like: God, let me pick the winning lottery numbers this week; Lord, let me find a Porsche in the driveway in the morning; God, let Anne Hathaway realize she’s madly in love with me. These prayers are pretty ridiculous in scope, and we usually know as we pray them that it just ain’t going to happen (though I’m still holding out hope for that Anne Hathaway thing).

Then there are those who dare to pray the dangerous prayers; the ones that require more on our part than just uttering some words in the general direction of Heaven. These require a heavy dose of faith, as well as some investment on our part. I’ve started to borrow one that David wrote in Psalms. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

That’s a pretty bold prayer. Think about it this way; when you go to the doctor for a physical exam, you want the doc to be pretty thorough, even if it involves some discomfort. Why? If there’s something wrong with you, you want it discovered so that you can take the measures necessary to be healed. David wanted the same thorough exam for his heart, so that he could grow stronger and become more and more the man after God’s own heart that he was meant to be.

This is my desire as well. I want so much to live up to what I was designed for, to realize the potential that was placed in me since before I was born. I want to be known as a man after God’s own heart, too. Growing into that description requires lots of examination and a form of spiritual surgery. Not comfortable, not preferable, but it’s absolutely necessary.

So, I offer a challenge. Take David’s prayer as your own. It’s not an easy prayer, because, when God answers it, you’ll have some work to do. But, on the other side of it all, you’ll be better off for having done it.

Reflections on Isaiah 6:8

“Here am I. Send me.” Just five words. Five simple words. However, if spoken in heartfelt sincerity, they can be among the most dangerous (and most freeing) words on the planet. If you say these words, and really meant it, God will send you. You may not know where, and you most likely won’t know why, but He will send you.
I’ve had to ask myself lately if these are words I’m really ready to say. More to the point, am I willing to say them? After all, willingness is implied in the first three of these words. “Here am I.” As if to say, “I’m willing, I’m available, I’m as ready as I’m ever going to be.” These words require no small amount of courage to say with any degree of sincerity.
Then there’s the second part: “Send me.” Almost feels like asking for, begging for the unknown. It really seems counterintuitive. Send me into uncertainty. Send me into potential danger. Send me into harm’s way. More to the point, send me into the brokenness of the world, into the midst of the hurting, wounded hearts of a fallen world.
Who actually wants that kind of life? What kind of person requests it? I’ll tell you who – someone who has truly experienced the life-changing love of Christ. One who knows that transformation is not only possible, but necessary if this world is to have any sense of hope at all. One who knows that the shift in heart that they have experienced can change this world, even if it’s just one heart at a time.
I’ve spent a lot of time immersed in selfishness, under the guise of “drawing closer to God.” There are many who use church as a spiritual filling station, topping off the tank before embarking on another week. Let me offer something I’ve learned. If you want a heart that is consistently full of the love of Christ, then you have to continually empty it. The more you empty yourself by drenching others in His love, the more your own heart will overflow, allowing you pour out even more, bringing even more overflow, and that cycle will go on, and on, and on. But, the cycle has to start somewhere, and it starts here:
“Here am I! Send me!”