Praying Big - Be Intentional

“Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.” (John 11:14-15, NIV)

I remember my first prayer because the answer was nothing short of miraculous. Here is the backstory:

When I was in high school, a friend named Chris asked me if I was a Christian. I had not grown up in church and knew very little about Christianity. I simply shrugged and said, “Sure. Isn’t everyone in America a Christian?”

(Yes, I really believed that.)

Fast forward to college.

I heard the gospel for the first time my freshman year and prayed to become a Christian. After I began growing as a believer, I remembered that brief conversation with Chris. Suddenly I understood his question and was compelled to find him and answer him with a resounding ‘yes.’ The problem was I had not seen him in years. My college years were pre-Internet, Google, and social media, so the only resource I had was prayer. Eager to find Chris, I asked God to help me.

The next morning, my mom, unaware of my prayer, and hours away in my hometown, went to work. She worked at a hotel and soon after arriving, a patron noticed her nametag and asked if we were related. It was Chris. When she said yes, he wrote down his phone number and asked her to give it to me.

That afternoon, less than 24 hours after I had prayed my first prayer, I had Chris’s phone number scribbled on a notepad in my room.

The Bible is filled with miraculous stories. Daniel who didn’t die in the lions’ den, David who wasn’t defeated by Goliath, and the walls of Jericho that couldn’t remain standing once the marching army began to shout.

Have you ever wondered why God works in such spectacular ways? Jesus answered that question when He spoke to His disciples about the death of their friend Lazarus—the man who wouldn’t stay dead simply because Jesus commanded him to live.

The story begins in John 11 when Jesus receives word that Lazarus is sick. The family longs for Jesus to come, but He chooses to wait and let Lazarus die. Afterwards He tells the disciples they will now travel to see them. Jesus clearly states the purpose of His visit:

“Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.” (John 11:14-15, emphasis mine)

Jesus wanted Lazarus to die so He could raise him back to life. But not just to show off! Jesus chose to resurrect Lazarus so that others would believe in Him and trust Him more. There is a purpose to God’s supernatural ways.

After God parted the Red Sea, the Israelites believed in Him (Exodus 14).
After Peter and John healed a lame man, the crowd believed in Him (Acts 3-4:4).
After God gave me Chris’s phone number, I believed in Him.

God’s miracles are always an invitation for us to further believe in Him.

We need to learn to pray big! But not to win the lottery or make our lives free of suffering or sadness. Rather, so we can believe and trust Him more. To this day I often reflect on my first prayer, and it never fails to strengthen my faith, even on the weakest of days. And though it’s been 30 years, God is still using that answered prayer to invite others to believe in Him, too.

What are you praying about that only God can accomplish? Pray big! God wants to use your prayers to help you (and others!) trust Him more.

Be Intentional

Set a timer for one minute. Pray specifically for something only God can accomplish. Ask Him to use that prayer to help others believe in Him more.