Anchored in Christ

What follows is what I shared in the last video of Building Life of Prayer: A Free Mini Course on Prayer.

---

I’m so thankful for how God has grown me in prayer over the last several years.

But recently I came to another startling realization about my prayer life: I often ask for small things, or at the very least don’t ask for big things. I don’t always pray as if there’s a God “who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

I think the next step on my journey of growth is learning to pray big, God-centered prayers.

What Is a Big Prayer?

My simple definition is that big prayers seem humanly impossible, but have massive implications and gospel fruit. Your flesh is probably whispering to you about these prayers that, “You can’t ask for that, it’s too big.”

I say “God-centered” because we can default to selfish motives, and Jesus teaches us in the Lord’s Prayer to pray for God’s glory, the growth of His kingdom, and accomplishing of His will.

God is challenging me to pray big. Perhaps the best way I can encourage you to pray big is by telling a story.

Prayers that Echo for Eternity

Stephen Lungu was known by the nickname “The Billy Graham of Africa.” He grew up homeless on the streets of Zimbabwe and took to gang life. He led a gang and had the plan to bomb a Christian evangelistic rally, he wanted to kill as many Christians as possible.

But as Lungu and his crew waited outside the meeting to begin the attack, something told him to go inside and listen. So, he did. And instead of shedding innocent blood that night, he put down his petrol bombs and had the shed blood of Jesus Christ cover all his sins. He was born again.

Over the next several decades he would serve with various evangelistic ministries all around the world and no doubt encouraged tens of thousands to put their faith in Jesus.

One day about thirty years after his conversion, he was the guest preacher in a church in his home country. As he shared his testimony of conversion as he had a thousand times before, he couldn’t help but be distracted by two little old ladies who were whispering to each other and flipping through a Bible as he spoke. Soon these two old ladies began waving their hands to get his attention and holding the Bible in the air, they called out to Lungu, “Come here, come here! We must tell you something! You were the answer to our prayer!”

Perplexed, Lungu walked over to them. They gave Lungu the Bible and pointed to a well-worn page in the back.

On that page read “May 14, 1962”—the night of Lungu’s dramatic conversion. Next to the date was the simple prayer: “Lord Jesus, will you save one gang leader tonight?”

Shocked, Lungu responded, “But, I never saw you that night.” The ladies replied, “We weren’t there. We knew about the evangelistic meetings and were praying.” It took them 30 years to learn how God had answered their simple prayer that might have taken 15 seconds to pray. And the fruit of their prayer continues today as thousands of people now know Jesus through Stephen Lungu’s ministry.

The Results Are in God’s Hands

This story is really a glimpse into what we will experience in heaven. We don’t know exactly how or when God is using our prayers on this earth, but one day we will see what God has done, and we will worship Him forever.

How can you pray big like these kingdom-advancing little old ladies in Zimbabwe? Maybe God is calling you to intercede for the conversion of enemies of Jesus Christ. Maybe He’s calling you to pray for your kids to serve the Lord with their lives. Maybe He’s calling you to pray harder and bigger for self-control and wisdom in battling a particular sin in your life or the life of someone else.

To pray a big prayer, you have to get out of your comfort zone. You have to stretch your faith and stop putting God in a box. You have to trust God with the outcome and persevere—because you may never see the answers this side of heaven, but God is at work.

If you want to make this idea of praying big more practical, ask God to help you pray big and show you what to pray for. I recommend spending twenty minutes brainstorming big prayers you can pray, and then pray one everyday.

Sometimes we may feel that our prayers are a small offering to God. But don’t forget our God can take a few loaves and fishes and multiply them a thousand times over for the glory of His name. Pray big, God-centered prayers and leave the results to Him.