I’ve been thinking about prayer lately. I’ve been having a sneaking suspicion that God wants my prayer life to become so much more than it currently is. Do you ever feel like that – like your prayers have become boring, robotic or only on an as-needed/last-resort basis? The examples I read of prayer in the Bible are anything but that. In fact, I would go so far as to say that God calls us to a prayer life that’s RADICAL.
My reading in James this past week completely confirmed this for me. Check it out:
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next three and a half years! Then he prayed for rain, and down it poured. The grass turned green, and the crops began to grow again.“
James 5:16-18 NLT 1998
I want that. I want my prayer life to be RADICALLY earnest and I want to see God’s RADICALLY great power and wonderful results. I want to talk with God about RADICAL subjects (like healing and no rain) and have RADICAL faith in his will.
So, here’s the plan. According to Merriam-Webster, the adjective form of radical has four meanings that I’m going to use to transform my prayer life.
- Of, relating to, or proceeding from a root: such as… designed to remove the root of a disease or all diseased and potentially diseased tissue. “Radical surgery” or “Radical mastectomy.” A radical prayer life involves confessing my sin to God and asking him to remove it ALL. God, give me a RADICAL SINectomy. (James 5:16)
- Of or relating to the origin : Fundamental. A radical prayer life acknowledges who I am, whose I am, and what an incredible origin I have in Him. A radical prayer life acknowledges that my fundamental existence is not my own. A radical prayer life uses scripture and God’s will to direct my words. (Psalm 103:1)
- Very different from the usual or traditional : Extreme. A traditional prayer life is all about what I want. A radical prayer life puts my past, present and future in his hands. Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42 NIV) When I’m participating in a radical prayer life, I’m asking God to make my hopes and dreams extremely different. I’m asking God to make HIS will MY will.
- Slang: Excellent; Cool. Do you know what’s cool? Believing that God can do ANYTHING. A radical prayer life involves BIG asks and BIG faith. (James 5:17-18)
What do you do to keep your prayer life growing and full of radical faith? Drop your comments/questions/prayer ideas below or email them to me privately at Emily@messyworship.com. I’m praying RADICALLY for YOU!
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you so much for being radically sacrificial for me. Transform my heart and mind so that my prayers and my will reflect more of you and less of me in BIG, EXTREME, RADICAL ways. Amen.
Photo by Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash
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