Asking Audaciously
Are you an audacious asker?
A few years ago, I woke up days before Christmas with the word “audacity” in my head. For the life of me, I don’t know why. So I began to ponder the meaning of “audacious.”
Audacious: extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless, lively; unrestrained; uninhibited.
You know who’s audacious at Christmas? Little kids.
“I want a pony!” (do kids ask for ponies anymore?)
“I want an iphone!”
“I want . . . I want . . . I want . . .”
In my pondering, I felt the prompting of the Spirit asking me this question, “What would you ask for of Me if you asked audaciously?”
I was stumped. I realized that I don’t usually think in that term. It’s easier to ask manageable, practical, maybe they would have happened anyway kind of prayers. Less hope, less disappointment.
That’s not how we’re called to pray.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us . . .” (Ephesians 3:20)
But here was this invitation, “What do you want, Gina? What would you ask of Me?” At the time, it was on behalf of my husband, working at a role far too expansive for one person.
“I want him to have an associate,” I threw out as boldly as I could. It felt, well, not audacious enough.
“By the end of January,” I added for good measure. You want audacious? That’s my best effort.
Most of January flew by, my audacity floating in the air like a cloud, threatening to blow away at the first sign of doubt. The last week, a casual conversation with a friend about how her husband was finding joy in projects that involved operations (my husband’s work) led me to share my audacious prayer with her. She took one look at me and said, “Our husbands need to talk.”
You see, Gina? I can answer audacious prayers. I can do more than that, if you have the courage to ask.
So here I am, staring down another Christmas, watching our kids’ wish lists grow as their eyes and dreams get bigger, more hopeful, more expectant. They’re asking audaciously.
And I’m reminded, “Will you ask audaciously?”
Will I ask, believing that He can go so much further, do something deeper, better than I can imagine? Or will I stay in my safe, well-mannered prayers, never risking or hoping too much?
Ask audaciously. Ask bold, brave, unrestrained, uninhibited. Ask for the pony. It might not happen the way you hope or expect, but He answers. Just ask.
Related:
Why Christmas Reminds Me to Hope in God
