"Send us home safe, let everything go smoothly..." This is the first thing we usually pray for when we leave home to do God's work, but as I thought about what I was really saying I realized that safety is not what I want at all. God isn't always safe. He compares His love for us like an ocean and if you've ever been swallowed up in a wave you know that it's not the safest most comfortable experience. Bottom line is that God is not a comfortable God, so that shouldn't be my prayer.
Instead my prayer is this. That I would be so bold that nothing could stop me from spewing Jesus everywhere! I WANT God to change my plans. I want everything to fall apart because I do NOT want to be comfortable. When do we fall asleep? When we are most comfortable. That's great when we go to bed, but spiritually, what a nightmare! I want to be anything but comfortable because I don't want to miss out on anything.
Another thing we pray for is that God would show up or that God would work. Hellloooo. God ALWAYS shows up! He has NEVER once failed in that area and I doubt that He would all the sudden decide not to show up one day. The real problem is that we are so distracted by our pride and apathy that we can't hear or see God even though He shows up every time! So let's stop praying that God would work or that God would show up and start praying that we would set aside ourselves and lay everything on the line to hear His voice! Let's be sensitive to His calling and let Him work in us! Let's make ourselves nothing so that God can be our everything.
Thirdly, we need to take it seriously. I feel like so much of the time we go through the motions of the trips or camps and we rely on God to bring everything to the table for us. We expect Him to change us just because we are simply getting on a bus or plane. And don't get me wrong! He does change us and He does use us, but how much more could He use us if we prepared our hearts to meet Him, if we eagerly and constantly sought Him out every second, can you even imagine?? We need to take these opportunities seriously. Not everyone gets the chance to go on these trips, how tragic would it be to just go through the motions and not soak up everything God had to offer!
Lastly, our mission does not start or end because we went on a trip somewhere. This world is FULL of people that we come into contact with every day that are walking DEAD. We talk to and interact with people everyday that are going to Hell if we don't set aside our pride and the risk of an awkward situation to save souls! Someday we are all going to see Jesus face to face and He is going to point out every situation and opportunity we had to change someones eternity and He is going to tell us the heartbreaking story of how we sold that opportunity because we were blinded by our selfishness and our pride. I don't want to be the person who sold that amazing gift of sharing Jesus because I was scared of an awkward situation or of my own safety.
So God, I pray for boldness. I am begging you to crush my pride. I thank you for the opportunities I know you will give me and for the hearts I know you have already prepared. I pray that you would make me so small that all anyone can see is you. I pray that I would carry Jesus name where ever I go. I pray that I would never underestimate your power and your plan. Destroy my expectations. God, send me.
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