Trusting God for Big Things

"Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full."  John 16:24

On the night that Jesus was betrayed he made this statement to his disciples so that after the resurrection and ascension they would seek Him in prayer.  He encourages them to ask for things in His name.  Asking or petitioning things "in Jesus name" is not a magic formula or rote ritual to speak at the end of a prayer request; rather, it is an opportunity for us to pray and ask things that will build the reputation of Jesus Christ.  There is nothing more joyful than seeing God answer prayer that brings Him glory. 

The problem with a generic and general prayer life is that we can never be quite sure when God has answered that prayer.  For instance, when we pray, "God please bless my family," how will we know if we are really blessed?  Our relationship with God becomes subjective and we are never quite sure if He is truly involved.  Another challenge to our prayer time is that we are not really trusting God because we believe that even if He doesn't show up we will still be okay.  Perhaps we pray for God to provide for our needs but we really believe that we already have everything we need.  In this case prayer is just a routine and we are not expecting anything from God.

God wants us to trust Him to come through in our lives.  When we are praying that God's will be done in our world and we are specifically trusting Him for these things, then our joy becomes full as we celebrate his answers. 

Here are a few ways that you can stimulate your prayer life:
1. Pray Specifically, not generically -- make every detail of your requests be known to God (Philippians 4:6-7).
2. Pray Biblically, not selfishly -- God loves it when we trust in His word and pray His will to him (John 16:13).
3. Pray Expectantly, not routinely -- God says it will make our joy complete when we see Him at work (John 15:11).
4. Pray Outrageously, not ritually-- God wants us to trust Him for the miraculous (Ephesians 3:20-21).

I encourage you to begin to write down your prayer requests and begin to trust God in this way.  For those who have the guts to give this a try, your life with God will never, ever be the same.