Pray BIG and Pray HARD

1 John 5:14 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

14 Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Mark 11:24-25 The Message (MSG)

22-25 Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, ‘Go jump in the lake’—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything.

Jeremiah 29:12 The Message (MSG)

12 “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

Matthew 6:7 New Life Version (NLV)

7 When you pray, do not say the same thing over and over again making long prayers like the people who do not know God. They think they are heard because their prayers are long.

James 1:6 New Life Version (NLV)

6 You must have faith as you ask Him. You must not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave which is pushed around by the sea.

Prayer… the little emoji symbol we put on social media, what we say in passing when we see distress, something we do daily out of routine, putting our kids to bed they go through that ritual as well. I have prayed my whole life. I remember my mom tucking me in nightly and saying my prayers with me.  I have continued that ritual with my children. However, I feel like it has become very robotic for them.  This led me to thinking about my prayer life and how I pray. 

From the wall of Jericho to Noah looking foolish building a boat to David taking a sling shot to a massive giant.  Those were actions that the onlookers made fun of, but what was the outcome in those stories?  God heard their prayers and took action, massive action.  They had faith and they didn’t care if they looked foolish while following through with their prayer action.  They did 3 things:  

1. They named it,
2. They claimed it by taking action, and
3. They circled it in prayer.

God is not our “genie in the bottle” type of God, but He does want us to communicate and ask Him.  He wants us to get on our knees and really shout out our prayers.  Even in the quiet of my home, I don’t do this out of my “scare of looking foolish”.  I do the “bow your head and pray” action.  Simple, but sometimes not as effective as getting on my knees and really talking to the Lord.  

“We loose faith in God who gave us the big dream and settle for a small dream that we can accomplish without His help.  We go after dreams that don’t require divine intervention.  We go after dreams that don’t require prayer.  And the God who is able to do immeasurably more than all our right brain can imagine is supplanted by a god - lower case g- who fits within the logical constraints of our left brain.” (Batterson, M. 2016)

So, have confidence in your prayer (1 John 5:14).  Embrace it and pray it hard (Mark 11:24-25).  He will listen (Jeremiah 29:12).  It doesn’t have to be long or drawn out or even eloquent because God is not looking for perfection from us (Matthew 6:7). And lastly, don’t doubt Him because He will answer our prayers in His time (James 1:6).  

Be Blessed!  

PS.  

Recommended movie about prayer - If you haven’t seen War Room,  it is a must see!  

Recommended book about prayer - The Circle Maker By Mark Batterson.  

These are what I’m doing to increase my volume in my prayer life.