The inspiration for this post came from a conversation with a friend earlier this week.  She has something she is trying to work out and said she was asking for a small portion of what she ideally wants to see as the end result.  She said she felt asking for more was selfish.  During my morning reading time that same day, I had just highlighted Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (NIV) My response back to her was asking for the full desired end result was not at all selfish and “you gotta ask big to get big.”

So easy to say and yet oftentimes so difficult to do. I know there have been several times in my life when I have not fully pursued something I wanted to see happen for any number of reasons  – feelings of fear (the most frequent culprit), unworthiness, self-doubt or pride, just to name a few that immediately come to mind.  There have also been times that I’ve been willing to “put it out there” and ask for something bigger than I thought possible and have seen them come to pass.  In high school, I set my sights on going to a top rated school for physical therapy, and I received an acceptance letter to UNC.  After grad school, I wanted to stop paying rent and instead put my money into a home.  15 months after I moved back to Texas, I purchased my first home at the age of 26.  When JJ and I were looking to buy an “our house” we wanted a home close to our church and was set up well for small group meetings.  God showed us our current house (which is a 2 minute drive to our church and has an ideal floorplan for small group meetings) while we were driving around neighborhoods one day as our old house was being shown.  When my sister was pregnant with her second child, we prayed for a healthy child to be born and our niece is now 5 years old.

Believing that you will receive what you ask for is a common challenge; let me say this – it’s a common challenge for me because I can struggle with “what if it doesn’t happen?”  James 1:6-8 says “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”  (NIV).  Sometimes I wonder how many times I have not seen something come to pass because I have second guessed myself or the process.

Over the years, I have also learned that when you’re believing for something big, it helps to tell other people.  Friends and family can help keep me on track and focused on the desired end result if my courage or faith start to waver.  Matthew 18:20 says “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (NIV).  I find it helpful to have people pray with me and for me during times of great challenge – simply knowing that someone else cares will often relieve some of the stress I feel (whether the stress is good stress or bad stress).

So, what happens when you pray and you believe and the outcome still is not what you wanted?  Is that the million dollar question or what?  Just like I have had several great things happen in my life (the list above is not exhaustive), I have had several times where I hoped and prayed for things that didn’t come to pass as well.  Some of those experiences have been devastating – not being able to have children, having two opportunities for adoption fall through for various reasons, my sister losing two of her children, various personal relationships that didn’t turn out the way I hoped they would.  In some of these instances, I have seen how the prayer I thought was initially unanswered turned out to be answered in an entirely different way.  For instance, we are very involved in the marriage ministry in our church and are honored to pour into other people’s lives and relationships the lessons we have learned so far.  Some unanswered prayers will perhaps remain unexplained this side of heaven and for those, I don’t have a good answer as to why they are unanswered or answered differently than hoped for, other than what I read in Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  (NIV).  Sometimes the waiting and the not knowing of how He is working things out, especially when the time stretches into months or years, can be frustrating and confusing.  The challenge then becomes to continue to move forward and ask for the next big thing in your life.

What big thing are you hoping or praying for currently?

PS – I had a really tough week at work and the girls in my office surprised me with flowers on Thursday morning, so I thought I’d share them with you too.  (Thanks again, ladies!)