Dangerous Prayer

 

Are your prayers dangerous or safe?

Maybe you’ve never even considered that your prayers could be either of those things.

When we sit at the feet of God and offer up our prayers, are we focused on the quantity or quality? We constantly hear how important prayer is. We should do it every day. We should consistently pursue prayer for everything.

All of that is true; but there’s more.

Did you ever have someone come to you in order to ask something from you, but they never really asked at all? What they did was kind of dance around what they wanted to ask. For whatever reason, they didn’t want to come right out and ask you. They were hoping along the way that you would “interpret” their need and jump in with an offer, so they didn’t have to actually make the ask.

Sometimes we call this “passive-aggressive” behavior; the idea of hinting at something instead of coming out and saying what we actually want to say.

Our culture as a whole does this chronically. It seems we’re either speaking without filters on social media or beating around the bush in person. Instead of expressing ourselves openly and honestly (in love) we often try to bait each other into understanding our needs, wants or feelings.

At the end of the day this behavior is in the very least unhealthy.

What lies behind this elusive behavior? Many times it’s pride, fear and insecurity.

It's being too proud to own what we feel, because although we want someone to know how we feel, we don’t want to stick around to have a dialogue about it.  It’s being too afraid to want a response. It’s being too insecure to have life giving dialogue. We want so badly to be heard, but not to hear.

If there’s an “ask” that we’re trying to communicate, the pride lies in the fact that we don’t want to show we have a need. The last thing we want to do, is feel the vulnerable pull of asking for another’s help.

We do this with each other and we do this with God.

A safe prayer doesn’t stick around long enough to listen for Gods response. A safe prayer doesn’t put themselves in a vulnerable position. A safe prayer prays only for what they feel is possible or probably. A safe prayer doesn’t pray in a posture of surrender.

So what’s a dangerous prayer? Let me give you a few examples to help you wrap your brain around this understanding.

Isaiah 6:8-“Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Prayer involves not only our words to God, but also our open ears for God. Are we listening or do we simply throw our asks at God and run back to life?

Isaiah took the time to hear the Lord and when he did, he knew God was asking for a messenger to the people.

Isaiah’s dangerous prayer was “Here I am. Send me.” He didn’t know what it would mean to be this messenger or how long he would be in that position, but with a surrendered heart he said “Send me.”

Are we sharing a rich dialogue with God; a dialogue that shows us the desires of Gods heart; a dialogue that invites us to partake in Gods glory right here and right now?

How about Psalm 129: 23-24

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

Talk about a dangerous prayer! “Search me, O God and know my heart”! What would God find if he took a peek into our hearts? 

We might all assume God knows what’s going on in there, but I’m not sure we would feel comfortable making that bold invitation without cringing a little bit at what he might find. (Kind of like when we have that unexpected guest pop over for a visit and the house is a little less than tidy.)

“Point out anything in me that offends you.." Oh boy. We can’t just shrink away at the thought of God seeing our hearts; we’re asking him to point out anything that offends him. That could certainly be dangerous. Are we willing to do that?

1 Samuel 3:9-11

“Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy.  So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.

And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”

And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

Have you ever just sat quietly and said “Speak Lord, your servant is listening”?

That is a key element to true prayer. Listening.

We are not a people who are always keen on listening. We want to be heard and understood. We want a voice.

Why? Because listening can be dangerous. Our hearts might be moved. Our anger might be changed. Our desires might shift.

God wants to move us, change us and shift us.

Are we brave enough to let him? Are we brave enough to pray dangerously? Are we brave enough to really hear what God wants, instead of what we want?

Samuel, Isaiah and David were dangerous prayers and look at all that God did in their lives! 

Pray dangerously my friends, because within each dangerous prayer lies a tremendous blessing. We think we know what we want, think, and are capable of, but with God, so much more is possible in our lives. Speak Lord we are listening!

Pray dangerously.

-Pastor Patti