A man stopped by my church a few months ago ago. We didn’t know him and he didn’t know us. He came in and simply said, “I’m a Christian and I don’t need anything from you except this: would you pray for me?”
I offered to pray with him right then and there, but he said he trusted me and that he was on his way somewhere. He gave a few details and then left.
It got me thinking.
Why not ask?
I love that he was bold enough to see a church and just come in, give his name, and ask for what he needed. He needed prayer. And you know what? We prayed.
My dad has a friend who is fond of going to car dealerships and department stores, pointing to an item and asking, “What’s my price?” The salespeople will look at him like he’s nuts and then repeat the price on the tag. But you know what? When he asks it again, they often find a way to make him a deal.
I don’t know about you, but often in my prayer life I edit a bit. I’ll ask God for health for my family; I’ll lift up the requests of many at my church; I’ll confess my sins; I’ll ask for patience and strength.
But there’s a ton I don’t ask for in prayer. Some things seem too big. (World peace? Really?) Not that God couldn’t do them, but that my little prayer won’t be nearly enough.
Some things seem too small. (Praying that God would help me find my eyeglasses? Surely he has better things to do…)
Other things I just don’t put into the usual boxes of “Things I Should Pray About.” (Should we subscribe to a paper newspaper?)
Of the million decisions I make in a day–paper or plastic, water or milk, schedule the conference call for this week or next, baths for the kids or straight to bed–most, I confess, are made without prayer.
But why not ask? Why not be in constant conversation with the God who loves me, who holds my future, and who sees the whole picture?
From Luke 11:
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
There’s nothing too big, too small, or too out-of-the-prayer box that God isn’t willing to listen.
Why not ask?
Courtney Ellis 
Amen! Great message, Courtney. Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you for the reminder that there is nothing too big or too small for God. He wants to part of our life, our day, our moments. We just need to invite him in, he’s waiting.
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So true! Sometimes I forget there’s nothing too small. Other times I forget there’s nothing too big. One of the big arguments in favor of Christian community is the reminders we give to one another! 🙂
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