I used to find myself steering away from big prayers. Steering away from the prayers that seemed impossible because I could not understand how they could possibly be answered. And because I didn’t pray for them, I was putting God in a box. I was not believing that he could do all things, rather I was only believing he could do what made human sense to me. And on the rare occasion, maybe I listened to a sermon that talked about being bold, and I decided to pray a big, bold prayer, I never believed in it. Rather I waited for it to be answered for me to believe it. Well recently, the Lord has been teaching me a lot about prayer. He reminded me that not only is he the God of big things, but he is the God of little things so I should pray for the little things too. I began praying for things and people that I hadn’t before and my eyes were opened to this whole new world.
Last month I had the opportunity to check off a bucket list item. . With great excitement, I headed to Botswana for the day to embark on a land and river guided safari. A few days prior to this incredible adventure, I had asked my mom what animal she would want to see the most if she was going with me. She said a lion.
Without hesitation I began praying for this lion. I found myself praying first thing in the morning, throughout the day, and before bed for this lion. And as I prayed for this lion, I noticed a change in my prayers, they were no longer requests to see a lion rather I prayed in thanksgiving for the lion I fully BELIEVED I was going to see. And I found myself praying thanks for all the lions in the Chobe National Park and for the Lord’s guidance over their steps that were leading them to where we would see them.
I found my prayers taking a different path than they had ever gone before, I began thanking the Lord for a prayer that had not yet come to pass. And my heart followed my words. My heart believed with every ounce of its existence that my friends and I were going to see a lion.
The day of the safari I woke up, and the first person I saw I said ,” We are going to see a lion today.” I just knew it.
But when we arrived in Botswanna our tour guide immediately informed us that seeing lions was very rare, especially during rainy season(which of course happened to be now). He told us not to get our hopes up because even if there were lions in the area today, the grass was too tall and chances of us seeing them were slim.
He was pretty much saying, it would take a miracle.
I shrugged my shoulders, turned to my friend and said, ” I still believe.”
Half way through the safari we saw a lion track in the sand and everyone immediately got excited. But rather than excited, I was completely calm and I turned to my friend and said,” I’m at peace with it because I know we are going to see one so I’m not anxious about it.” In complete agreement my squad mate said,” Yes you are, because God loves you.”
Not another 20 minutes later, we pulled up along side another safari truck that was looking at a patch of tall grass making a ton of commotion. Unable to understand what the safari guides were eagerly chattering about, we all scanned the horizon as if we had special X-ray vision that could look straight through thick grass.
Our guide turned to us, practically jumping out of his seat, and said, “They saw a lion in the grass over there!” He pointed into a sea of tall grass between two trees.
My heart immediately lit up with joy as I began thanking the Lord for this amazing animal he so intricately designed and placed in our presence. How great of a blessing for us to sit among this mysterious, powerful, masterpiece of our creator in its natural habitat. Then without waiting long, there was movement of not one but two lionesses! And without further ado,the lady of the hour made her clear appearance through the grass, as she popped her head to the surface of the green waves, and peered between the blades. Her gaze was written with curiosity, as she steadily stared at the vehicle only 50 meters away that had disturbed her from her nap.
That’s when I had a revelation of prayer. Over the past few days the Lord had taken me on a journey with prayer and I had not realized it until now! He had taught me how to redirect my prayers from shy petitions to confident prayers of thanksgiving! I hadn’t even realized that praying for this lion had compeltely rewired my mind and my way of speaking with the Lord.
Praying for this lion taught me a bigger lesson. It’s not about just asking for things, but actually believing it and thanking him for the gifts you have not yet received.
There is so much power when we transfigure our mind from an attitude of meek, doubtful requests, to bold strong belief.
It took praying for a lion for me to learn how to believe in a prayer before I saw it come to pass!
The Lord taught me how to pray with belief, expecting him to move.
The Lord is taking me on a journey with prayer teaching me to step out of my comfort of repetitive prayers and let each prayer be uniquely driven by the Holy Spirit.
I encourage everyone to look at their lion. What is your big prayer right now? Whether it is a job, finances, or something silly like a lion, are you offering up a shy petition or a confident prayer of thanksgiving as if it has already come to pass?
Photo Credit: Daiva Martino
