And he cried, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!" And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Luke 18:38-39).
Because we are humans, we will make mistakes when we pray; we might ask for things that are not theologically correct. That's okay. I believe God welcomes passionate mistakeness more than luke-warm correctness.
In 1540, Martin Luther's great friend and assistant, Frederick Myconius, became sick and was expected to die within a short time. On his bed, he wrote a loving farewell note to Luther with a trembling hand. Luther received the letter and instantly sent back a reply, "I command thee in the name of God to live. I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church. The Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead, but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will and my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God." One week later, Myconius recovered and died two months after the death of Luther (I found this story in a sermon by Peter Marshall--it is supposed to be historically accurate).
What audacity! Audacity is boldness and brashness. It is willing to ask for outcomes that cannot succeed unless God is in them. Have you prayed with audacity lately? Be done with praying wimpy prayers!
Love & Prayers,
Tom
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1 comment:
Note to self: The parable of the widow and the judge in Luke 18:1-8 fits here too. There is something audatious about continually pestering one in authority. God is not pestered but there are times when he tests how much a matter means to us.
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