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Woburn

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35 Olympia Avenue
Woburn, MA 01801

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Sunday 10:00 AM

Sunday 11:30 AM

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North Shore

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North Beverly Elementary School | 48 Putnam St.
Beverly, MA 01915

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PRAYING BIG Prayers

by on July 22, 2016

When we pray big, impossible, and audacious prayers, we treat our God like He is big enough to answer the impossible. By praying like that, we admit to Him that we are not all that strong and that we need Him to show up and reveal how big He is! AND, when we pray that way, we get to see Him doing epic things! We get to see Him moving in ways we could have never imagined, which builds us up, encourages us, mystifies us, and gives us BIG stories to share with the people around us!

WE NEED BIG PRAYERS

To be fair, it is for our good and for the good of everyone around us that we are praying like that. It is good when we are bold and audacious. Lysa Terqeurst says it well: “I think Jesus would rather rein in a wild stallion than kick a dead mule any day of the week”. What a great picture!

In the same way, I think Jesus would much rather us believe He is far too big and far too powerful to fail than for us to treat Him like He is far too small or far too weak to move! But, the sad reality – I am discovering – is that my prayers are often far too small. I act like God might get nervous if I ask for far too much. So, I ask for far too little.

WHY AM I NOT PRAYING AUDACIOUSLY?

I think it is because I have a tendency to forget the direction God has called me to walk in. I get wrapped up in my own life and my own needs, and I forget to ask for things that are consistent with His heart. God has not called me to build my own Kingdom, He has called me to build His!

If I am praying audacious prayers for His Kingdom to come more powerfully in my life, others’ lives, or in the life of my city, then I am already praying things He wants! In fact, God wants His will to come in my life more than I do! God wants to see His Kingdom come more than I can even imagine.

No prayer is too small when I get on board with His vision! I could literally ask for the “sun to stand still” over my city, so long as the sun was getting in God’s way of reaching it! How is that possible? Because God wants to reach my city more than I do. He wants to reach my neighbors more than I do. He wants to reach me and my family – to greater depths – than we currently reach!

HOW DOES THIS HELP ME PRAY BIG PRAYERS?

First I need to know God’s will. I need to know that He wants His plan to be done on earth – right now – as it is already being done in heaven! (Mt. 6:10), that He wants ALL the people of this earth to bow before King Jesus (Phil. 2:5-12), and that He has invited ALL His followers to join His Son in making disciples of all nations (Mt. 28:18-21). So, if God wants those things, then I can pray in big ways for that to happen.

One way I am doing that is by walking and praying over my city (Lowell, MA). I walk past houses of men and women that Jesus wants to save, and I ask Him to make the “sun stand still” in their homes. I walk past police stations, government buildings, restaurants, and small business asking that God would bless them, make them prosper, and grant them favor. I pray that God moves so incredibly in my city that people all over the world would hear the stories! I pray BIG!!!

In what ways might God be calling you to pray big prayers today?