Praying Specifically
Do you think God ever becomes overwhelmed by our prayers? That He finds our specific requests too greedy or as a sign of ungratefulness for all He’s already done? Do you think we trust Him with enough of them? NO!
I realized a while back that I was generalizing my prayer requests to the Lord and not trusting Him enough with the specifics. It’s almost as if I didn’t want to be let down if He didn’t grant a specific answer. My prayers were very unimaginative and looked something like this: “Lord, would you bring me a friend”… “God, help me find a job”… “Father, will you take away this pain”. And God spoke back, “Don’t you trust me to handle the specific desires of your heart?”
This was a really hard thing for me to grasp. I had been let down by many men in my life, and quite honestly, much of it stemmed from my earthly father. I started to understand that I was projecting this pain onto my heavenly father and holding my prayers hostage in the specifics to protect my heart from being let down if God decided not to deliver. Whew! That was a lot to comprehend.
So I mustered up the audacity to get specific. Prayer after prayer, I began to add more details as I witnessed His faithfulness. I started to document the day I started praying for something and the moment He answered. There are times in spiritual growth when my heart’s desire shifts and the prayer changes. Sometimes it takes years of persistent prayer; other times months, days, or minutes. But what I do know is that God answers!
Here’s a recent example. June 4, 2013: “Lord, would you bring me a friend… an accountability partner… to work out with at the gym… the one I work out at in my neighborhood… during the times I work out. God, would you also bless me with someone in my profession whom I can connect with in my career… a woman of faith… a friend in a similar place in life as me… someone who enjoys good food but lives on a budget… someone to take fun trips with and whom we can praise your goodness together.”
Following that prayer, I dined with many new girlfriends and could feel God’s love supporting me in new friendships (thank God for girlfriends!), but I was looking for someone more specific. Many times we settle for the good and give up hope for the great. I kept praying for my specific.
Weeks went by, and I received an email: “Hi, Trisha. I’m a month late doing this, but I found your card on my desk and wanted to reach out. We met at the PRSA meeting last month. I’d love to grab lunch or dinner in the next couple of weeks if you’re interested.”
We went to dinner and here’s who I found sitting across the table from me… a woman of faith who has found herself newly single, works in my career profession just a couple minutes my job, lives near my neighborhood, runs along the same trail I do… during the same time that I do, works out at my gym on the only day, at the only time, during the only class that I do… in the same corner that I stand! For the last two months, she had been standing in front of me and passing by me. As I prayed up a storm for my specific friend, God had delivered on time… I just needed to step up and step out in faith knowing He had already done it!
August 7, 2013 “You are the Almighty Provider, and once again you have heard the cry in my heart and delivered. May the sound of this praise and testimony declare your goodness so that you get all the glory and others may believe.”
This last year, God has been stretching- let me emphasize stretching my faith. And I’m so thankful for it! What a small view of such an Almighty God I have sometimes. If you’re looking for a specific answer… get specific in your prayer requests. While God knows the desires of your heart, He still wants to be asked, and then trusted with it.