I generally like surprises, as long as they are the good kind. And I love surprising people whether it be with flowers, gifts, etc. I had the chance to surprise my daughter with a surprise visit from her boyfriend; the look on her face was priceless. The feeling in my heart? Overflowing with love and joy.
I recently added a devotional to my morning reading. It is entitled Draw the Circle, The 40 Day Prayer Challenge. It is a companion to The Circle Maker which was released in 2011, both written by Mark Batterson. It is intended to help develop a deeper, more passionate prayer life. It encourages us to pray boldly and circle those dreams in commitment and belief.
I have a strong and personal prayer life. I talk with God and Jesus all day. I start my day with prayer and devotions, and I pray before I sleep. I come to Jesus in gratitude and in despair. Anger and frustration. He hears it all. I love learning how to better communicate with my Father and Savior to deepen our relationship. For in that deepening, I hear His voice more clearly and see the path He has set for me with more clarity.
I have been praying about a specific situation in my life for a little while. I know that God needs to do work in my heart and in our family’s approach in this area. Forgive my vagueness, however, I want to respect the privacy of my family. Suffice it to say, it is an area with which many of us struggle. I’ve prayed the normal, “Lord, help me to…”. And “Lord, I know we need to do better, please don’t abandon us now.” “Lord, please provide.”
But I hadn’t been praying is “Lord, show me what You want me to pray. Show me how You want to answer this prayer and what You want me to do.” And, prior to reading a chapter a week ago, I had never thought to pray, “Lord, surprise me.” What a bold and trusting prayer. As I read this chapter, I found myself wondering, “Could I do this?” Could I really step out in faith and courage and ask the Lord to surprise me in this area of my life. Could this admitted control freak let go and trust God to deliver in a way that I may not be expecting?
The answer is, yes. And the result brought me to my knees.
I began praying, “Surprise me.” I began speaking it throughout my day. Some days with trepidation. Some days with confidence and excitement. And a few times with a little bit of fear. What if the surprise cost me something for which I wasn’t prepared?” It’s like that saying, “I prayed for patience and God provided me with lots of opportunities to practice it.” But something in this concept resonated with me. I struggle with not praying big for fear of sounding selfish. I prayed reasonable prayers; asked for acceptable things; willing to do a certain amount of work to meet God halfway.
Oh, but our God isn’t a halfway God, now, is He? I pray acorn prayers to Him who created the mighty oak. I pray myopic prayers to Him who created the universe. I pray doubtful, careful prayers to Him who wishes to surprise me with his love and power. A Father who wants to feel His heart overflow with love and joy at the look on my face when I realize what He’s done for me.
Last night, God surprised me. With an answer to a prayer that I would never have considered. With an answer that provides a short-term gift and a long-term blessing. An answer that only God, in His infinite wisdom, grace, and love could provide. An answer that immediately lifted a heaviness off my heart and replaced it with a torrent of gratitude, and honestly, a lot of “you’ve got to be kidding!”
I’m not saying that ever prayer gets answered as quickly as this one did. But what I learned is that God doesn’t want us to hold back our desires or needs. He wants us to come to Him boldly, circling our dreams in hope. Unabashed, courageous, outrageous hope. Hope as a child who believes Santa will bring everything, he/she wants on Christmas morning.
Surprises are personal. They are unexpected. They are planned with you in mind. They are created to catch you off guard. Their power is in their unexpectedness. You can’t plan your own surprise. And you can’t plan God’s greatest blessings for your life. Because our Father in Heaven wishes to bless us and astound us. He wishes to show us that His Glory is supreme and unmatched. He wants us to trust Him enough to say, “Surprise me!” So that when His Will is done in our lives, we can shamelessly proclaim “All Glory to God!”
All Glory to God!!