Pray Big, Believe Big

Matthew 7:7 (MSG)
7 "Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. 

I used to wear one of those rubber wrist bands people don for a season, like the WWJD bracelets several years back.  This wrist band was blue and the lettering on it was PRAY BIG BELIEVE BIG.  I don't recall why it was being worn by our church members, but I do recall that I shared a couple of them with my daughters who were praying for children.

The blue bracelet was not a miracle healer and it held no special powers except to serve as a reminder to pray BIG and believe BIG, because we serve a BIG God.  I still have a couple of them and will wear one when I want to be reminded to pray often. During difficult seasons they still remind me to go to God in prayer for whatever I am struggling over.

It is curious that the topic for this week is "They got healed, why not me?"  Neither of my girls was healed of infertility, but God did something even better for them.  Three unselfish birth-moms delivered their babies and handed them over to my girls and their husbands. I call that healing, just not in the traditional way. And that is how God moves.

The healing we are seeking may look different from what we get. God moves in mysterious ways. Be ready to have your prayers answered, but be ready also to see just how the answers are presented. 

Matthew 7:7-12

Bookends for living

Genesis 15:1 (NIV)  After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 

The verses selected for today are like bookends on the shelf of life. This first verse finds God telling Abram not to be afraid. He went on to let Abram know that He (God) was his shield and reward.  Shield against what?  Reward for what?  Who knows?  If Abram was anything like the rest of the human race, he feared many things.  

As a warrior he probably worried about his next battle or the repercussions from the last one. Perhaps his enemies were strong and aggressive, maybe they were small and insignificant, but they were real. Just as ours are real.  One of Abram fears was leaving the world without an heir.  Maybe your fear is similar.  Does infertility hang its hat on the hook in your hallway?

Genesis 15:6 (NIV) Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 


At some point Abram started to believe God.  His life took on new meaning because of his faith. Can you recall when your faith began to take on a new shape, when you felt differently about God and His promises?  A right relationship with God is based on faith.  It is not what we do, but what we believe. It is how we act out our faith by trusting; by surrendering, by giving it to God.

Our actions do nothing to add to our righteousness.  Nothing we can do, no good deed, no noble act, nothing will give us righteousness. The only thing that makes us blameless in the eyes of God is the blood His Son poured out for us.  The blood of the Lamb covered us, blanketing our sin with His goodness and perfection.

When we live our life between these two bookends, Trust and Faith, we are living life to the fullest.

Genesis 15:1-6