468. Celebrating God's Grace, Crazy Prayer

Malachi 3:10 reads, "Test Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, 'if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.'" If we really believed that, might it encourage us to pray for some things that might seem a bit crazy?   ***   Welcome to Celebrating God's Grace, a Women World Leaders podcast. I'm your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God's grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. How's your prayer life? Maybe you only pray when your back is against the wall and you have nowhere else to turn. Or maybe, like me, you know the importance of communicating with God, but struggle to do it in a way that doesn't feel rote, rehearsed or maybe even sleep-inducing. By His grace, God is in the process of revitalizing my prayer life and has recently led me to pray what in the past, I could've only considered crazy prayers. I'm not sure that anyone taught me this, but growing up in church, I kind of had this notion that prayers should be prioritized according to importance. At the top of the list is anyone who's facing some kind of life and death crisis, followed by other, serious concerns, and finally, after the important stuff was covered, I might address my personal desires. From age 9 to 14, I dared to pray for a horse. I was totally obsessed with horses and dreamed of having my own.  We lived in the country, had plenty of acreage and a barn, so it was feasible, but I almost felt guilty for asking for such a thing. While people I knew were seriously ill, or battling addiction or struggling financially, was it wrong of me to bother God with a horse? In spite of my doubt, God moved my parents to say, "yes, I could have a horse…if I could afford to buy it and feed it myself." I began saving money for it, but by the time I had come reasonably close to having enough, I was in high school and came to the realization that I didn't really want the responsibility of caring for a horse. It seemed I had matured beyond the desire for what I now deemed a childish thing and subconsciously I began to equate praying for such trivial things as a mark of immaturity. In my mind, God had enough major issues on His plate to deal with and my silly little desires didn't merit taking His attention away from them. He challenged that notion a couple of years later when I was on a summer missions' trip. After 3 torturous years of wearing braces, I had finally gotten them off and was only required to wear a retainer. But it was critical that I wear it anytime I wasn't eating in order to ensure my teeth didn't shift back to their former positions. About 10 days into the trip, I came to the horrifying discovery that I had accidentally scraped my retainer into the garbage after dinner. I realized it within 30 minutes, but dozens of massive garbage bags had already been tied off and taken to the dumpster. There was no way to know which garbage bag held my retainer which was nothing more than clear plastic and a metal wire in the midst of fried chicken bones, corn on the cob and other food waste. I was due at the evening meeting in less than 5 minutes and to be late would lead to "special blessings," which were never nearly as nice as they sounded. Usually, it meant digging a ditch while everyone else enjoyed some free time. I considered just throwing up my hands in defeat, but my parents would be furious at having to pay for another retainer and I wouldn't be able to get it for more than 8 weeks.  During that time, my recently perfected teeth might be beyond straightening with just a retainer. I shared my dilemma with some friends who suggested we begin by checking the site where we'd eaten in case it had just fallen on the ground. When our search turned up nothing, I realized I was going to have to bite the bullet, risk special blessings and begin the most disgusting treasure hunt I could imagine. In the spirit of unsurpassed kindness and teamwork, several of my teammates offered to join me. In addition to being thoroughly grossed out at the prospect before us, I had serious doubts that we could ever hope to locate such a small, nearly invisible thing in the midst of so much garbage. God had already used difficult experiences here to show me that I could cry out to Him in brutal honesty and that He would be with me through every trial. In desperation I prayed, "God, it's just a stupid retainer, but it's really important to me right now and I have no hope of finding it unless you intervene." We went through bags and bags of slimy chicken bones with no success before one of my friends pulled out the long- lost retainer.  Our faith soared and I couldn't wait to write my parents a letter about the incredible miracle God had worked for me. I was not so eager to put it back in my mouth, but after repeated cleanings, it was a constant reminder of a verse I had memorized years earlier.  Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."  A retainer wasn't something I would've ever considered a "desire of my heart," but in this moment it was and I believe that God delighted to give it to me. My faith definitely grew that summer, but it was easy to slip back into old ways of thinking.  Apparently, I'm not the only one who struggles to remember that God really does care about everything that concerns us. Jesus addressed it in His Sermon on the Mount. He points out that we are quick to worry about things such as what to eat and what to wear even though we observe that God feeds the sparrows that we barely notice and clothes the lilies of the field in splendor greater than Solomon's.  He says, "the Father knows that you need these things," and wraps it up in Chapter 6, verse 33 by directing us to "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you." Jesus was specifically addressing our tendency to worry rather than pray and He brought that to my attention in an unusual way a few years ago.  The swimming pool that seemed like an absolute necessity when we purchased our home as parents of four young children had now become an albatross around my neck. One day as I was adding muriatic acid and shock, I noticed some black spots scattered around the bottom. I grabbed the brush and tried to scrub them away, but it didn't seem to have much impact. As time passed, I began to notice more and more of these black spots, and it concerned me enough to do some online research.  What I learned was troubling to say the least. It seemed to match the description of something called black mold which, from all accounts, was a pool owner's nightmare. Those who had dealt with it described using various treatments only to have it reappear time and time again. Short of having the pool resurfaced, most people began a lengthy process of daily scrubbing of every single spot along with a special chemical regimen. Eradicating it was expensive, difficult and very time consuming. I lived in denial for a while, but when the pool pump needed to be serviced, I asked the technician to give me her professional opinion about the black spots. She confirmed my fears. The next morning as I attempted to have my daily quiet time on the patio overlooking the pool, my thoughts were consumed with how I was going to deal with this problem. I was apologizing to God for my lack of focus when He reminded me of James 4:2, "You have not, because you ask not." For the first time, it became crystal clear. Why was I worrying about this situation and trying to deal with it on my own? Did God actually care about my swimming pool? Could I do something as crazy as pray that He would heal my swimming pool? I must admit, it did seem a little crazy, but I asked anyway, saying, "God, You say nothing is too hard for you. Well, this is too hard for me. I don't know what to do about it and You have better things for me to do than scrub this pool every day and we have better things to spend our money on too. Would you just make this mold disappear?" I instantly felt better and was able to set those concerns aside.  I got distracted by other things and didn't really even think about the pool for a while. I couldn't see the mold from a distance, so it wasn't really on my mind until I saw hints of mustard algae beginning to appear.  When I went to treat the algae, my heart soared as I looked from one end to the other and saw not a single black spot. God had healed my pool! Now I'm almost reluctant to say that, not because I have any doubt that He did, but because it may hurt someone who's been praying for healing of a far more serious nature.  I don't pretend to know why God chooses not to heal some serious physical illnesses or conditions and then heals something as trivial as my swimming pool. I only know that His ways are not our ways and, as Job learned, He really doesn't have to answer to us. The fact is, He did heal my pool and I give Him all the glory for it. I've had opportunities to share this story on multiple occasions and I see it as further confirmation that He really does care about everything that concerns us and is even eager to not only meet our needs, but give us the desires of our hearts. He is such a good Father Who delights to give His children more than we could even ask or think. Most of my prayers are of a more serious nature, but the swimming pool lesson was not lost on me. My current "crazy prayer" is that God would provide me with a lake in my backyard. Yeah, I know it's a little unorthadox, but I had prayed for many years that at some point God would lead us to a home on a lake, river or pond. God speaks to me through nature and I feel especially close to Him when I'm looking at a large body of water. He led us to a new home a little over a year ago and I love it, however, it does not have the water feature I was hoping for. What it does have is a dry lakebed just beyond our property line.  As recently as 4 years ago, there was a lake there, but now it's nothing but tall grass and a big puddle. Our new home has so many other features that I love, I can't complain. But one day when I was reading Mark 11:23 a new thought sprouted. Jesus said, "I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him." I immediately saw a parallel. I prayed, "Lord, I don't need You to put a mountain in my back yard, though I know You could and that would be really awesome since we're in Florida which doesn't have mountains. But what I am asking You to do is pick up some lake, there are hundreds all around me that no one even notices and put it in that dry lakebed behind our house."   It may take years or God's answer may be no this time, but I know He can do it and I know He loves giving me good gifts.  So I'll continue to pray and wait. My husband is a great dad and he is quick to pick up on what our kids are passionate about.  If there's something they want or need and he can provide it, he rarely hesitates. He didn't generally spoil them or give them everything they wanted, but he took great joy in those times when he could give them something special. Our heavenly father is no different. He loves you.  He delights in you. Don't ever hesitate to ask Him not just for what you need, but for the desires of your heart. And then, sit back and watch for the crazy miracle He may bring, just to show you how much He loves you. Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as we explore together God's extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without express written consent.