$1800. Eight hours. One dangerous prayer.
Let me give you some context.
Friday, January 15th was the deadline for us racers to have raised all $15,800 for our gap year. So on Monday, Jan. 11th, we had a lesson on fundraising, hoping that with some dedication and prayer, everyone who was still trying to meet their goal could do it by the deadline.
I didn’t think I’d have to pay attention to this, because as of last month I’ve been fully funded (praise the Lord!!). But this lesson hit me harder than any fundraising lesson we’ve had before.
My teammate, Andi, was still fundraising, and she had been pretty discouraged about it. And she was definitely not looking forward to having to spend every free second she had in the week asking people for money.
During the lesson, we talked about being bold and trusting the Lord to provide. I realized that I hadn’t really been that bold in my fundraising. I hated directly asking people for money, and I mostly relied on others being moved to give on their own and raising funds through things like t-shirts and crafts. Which was fine and it worked for me, but I also missed an opportunity to fully rely on God and live that out.
So that’s when the wheels in my head started turning. I had another opportunity. Andi still needed to raise $1800 by Friday. There are five people on my team. $1800 divided by five is $360. So if each of us asked twenty people for $18, Andi would be fully funded (I really don’t know how I did that math in my head).
After the lesson, I called a team meeting and suggested my plan. Everyone was down and eager to help Andi reach her goal since the rest of us already met it. I figured if we all worked really hard, we could raise the money by Friday.
That’s when my other teammate, Emma, spoke up.
She said that God had been teaching her to pray “dangerous prayers”, the kind that requires a lot of faith. She said that she thought we should pray that Andi would be fully funded by the end of the day.
So we did.
We went to a coffee shop to get wi fi and I started texting everyone I could think of. I asked for $18. Just $18. I texted some close friends and even some people I barely knew, like people I worked with several years ago or played volleyball with at my old, old school. And those people who were the least suspecting were the people who really came through.
My other teammates all did the same. Everyone few minutes one of us would pop up and yell, “I got someone!”. People donated more than $18. Some donated $100 or more. With each hour, Andi got closer and closer to her goal.
Eight hours after we prayed our dangerous prayer, Andi ran into the living room while some of us were playing “pass the pig” (don’t ask) and yelled:
“I’M FULLY FUNDED!!!”
We did it. Actually, God did it.
The coolest thing is I think I know what God was doing putting us in that situation and prompting Emma to challenge us to pray dangerous prayers. He was giving us the authority to keep praying those kinds of prayers and keep believing that He is a big God who can do big things.
I hope this story encouraged you in the same way. I know sometimes things can seem overwhelming or impossible, but nothing is impossible with God. He just wants to be a part of it.
So now it’s my turn to challenge YOU to pray a dangerous prayer, and then maybe you can inspire someone to do the same.
Thank you for following my journey! God’s already doing big things here in Costa Rica. I can’t wait to share more stories with you. And thank you so so much to anyone who has supported me financially and allowed me to be here sharing what God is doing in the world. Being fully funded is such a blessing and such a confirmation that I’m where God wants me to be.
God bless!!
