Small-Minded Prayers

By Andrea Merrell

 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel,

“Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!

Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm

so that I will be free from pain.” 

And God granted his request.

1 Chronicles 4:10

“You don’t think big enough,” my friend said. “God’s not put off or intimidated when you dream big and ask for what you want.”

She was right. My small-minded prayers only showed my hesitation—and possible lack of faith—to, as she said, “pray outside the box.”

The Bible says it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). Jabez is a good example for us to follow. We’re told that he was “more honorable than his brothers.” Why? Because he dared to ask God for great things. There was nothing extraordinary or special about Jabez. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about him except that he was a common man with uncommon faith.

God said to Jeremiah, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).

The apostle Paul said God is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

In Psalm 37:4 were told that God will give us the desires of our heart when we trust in Him. That means when our desires line up with His, we can have what we ask.

If God has placed a dream in your heart, present it to Him. Then believe He'll bring it to pass. Turn your small-minded thinking into big-minded, audacious prayers.

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.)

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If God has placed a dream in your heart, present it to Him. Turn your small-minded thinking into big-minded, audacious prayers. via@AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

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