Bigger Prayers
- Erika Dizney
- Aug 20
- 3 min read
Do you ever find yourself praying for just the bare minimum? Almost like you don't want to inconvenience God with having to deal with "too much"? Just me? I know I do this all the time. I put God in a box with my prayers, more than seeking His direction I give him my list of requests and a idea of how I would like them answered.
What a human response, especially for a type A, oldest sibling, recovering perfectionist! Yet, as I was praying over my family's future last week and laying out all the things that are coming our way I noticed myself praying like this. The obstacles, the life-changing events, the day to do day checklists, it all felt like a lot. I was adopting a mindset of "we have to get through it" instead of "what does God have for us here." That is a huge mindset shift. Scripture reminds us time and time again that nothing is wasted with God. There is a purpose in everything we walk through good, bad and in-between. I have grown up hearing and believing in the miracles that God performs, so why was I not expectant of that in my own life. Why were my prayers so small?
That is when it hit me, that gentle, loving, prompting voice of the Holy Spirit. Just pray bigger! Why does that seem so scary? Probably because it means letting go of the reins we never really held in the first place and truly trusting God with every aspect of our lives. Relinquishing control and saying wherever you lead God. For me, it looked like taking a deep breath and honestly asking my heavenly Father for the deepest desires of my heart. The dreams that didn't seem possible, yet with God all things are possible. It looked like speaking this new found revelation with trusted friends and family. People who could and will remind me to keep praying bigger when I want to shrink back into perceived safety of small prayers.
During one of these conversations a sweet friend reminded me of how that is our example of prayer in the Bible. The Psalmists wrote raw, honest, faith-filled, emotional prayers laying it all out to God. Telling Him exactly what He was feeling. He was dramatic at times, but even at the end of some of those really dramatic prayers, the faith he had in God was prevalent. He asked God to respond in big ways, but he knew that even if God didn't answer how He desired it, God's way was best. The Psalmists had a close, personal relationship with God where he felt safe to be vulnerable and real with his heart and requests. Isn't that something we should all desire in our relationship with God?
What about Jesus? We see many times in scripture Jesus getting away to pray to His father. Asking the disciples to pray for Him. Boldly asking God to take the cup (death on the cross) away from him, but once again he ends with "not my will but yours God." What a beautiful reminder for us and our prayer life that when we are facing hard or even just major life changes we need to bring others in to support us in prayer. That even if we perhaps don't want to walk through a particular season of life, God is with us and His perfect plan will prevail. He will never leave us or forsake us, we can confidently trust in Him.
So what about you? Are you willing to pray bigger with me? It's honestly kind of exciting to partner with God in this way. To let go of the control we never had in the first place and surrender to whatever He has for us. To grow our faith, by saying "I know that you are the God of miracles and they are for me too." I hope this encourages you if not to pray bigger, than perhaps to spend some time reading the Psalms or the gospels. Till next week friends!
While we are on the topic of prayer, check out our variety of prayer cards. From pregnancy, early childhood to college we have prayer cards for you. Not seeing what you are looking for? Contact me and asked about customized resources. Our heart is to provide you with what your family needs and making resources specific to your family is one of our favorite things to do!
Pray bigger, indeed!