Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. — Habakkuk 3:2
Francis Chan often told the story of how he would pray that God would “show up” at his church as his showed up throughout the Bible.
He would often quote James’s word to God in the form of a prayer,
“Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth” (James 5:17).
“Elijah… a human… like us… Do it again in our day, Lord,” he would pray.
One time he prayed this before going on stage to preach at a Christian conference that was packed with 20,000 Christians from across the country, and he heard a voice answer:
“Elijah was on a mountain with 400 prophets of Baal that wanted him dead, you’re at a Christian conference.”
God will not respond with fire if fire is not necessary, but he will respond. God is always at work, his mercy is perfectly suited for our need and our occasion, and if we would see how God is working among us, we better be attentive to discover how he is working.
The people of Israel would also cry out, “Do it again, O Lord.” It was typically when they were in a situation that required rescue, deliverance, that was beyond their reach. Then the stories of the Red Sea, David’s conquests, Jericho and Gideon, would come to mind.
It is good to cry out to the Lord for these things. Indeed, if we know that God is a deliverer, we should cry for deliverance. Once delivered, we should also build upon some of the characteristics of God being with us. For example, he keeps us in peace, he sustains us, he sanctifies, he reveals all truth to us.
St. Teresa of Ávila said, “You pay God a compliment by asking great things of him.”
Those great things do not only have to be “save me from trouble, God, as you saved them!” But there is a great beyond in our prayer life, there are prayers God is waiting for us to ask of him that will give him permission — yes, permission — to begin forming us into the kinds of persons he created us to be.
Almighty God, we have heard of your fame. The stories of your mighty acts stand out to us in the pages of scripture. From Moses to Elijah, Daniel to Jeremiah, and many saints in the New Testament. We would also experience your mighty acts in our day. Not just those that deliver us from trouble, but those that deliver us into the lives you’ve created for us. This is why Jesus came, that we might have abundant life in you. We ask for this life, in his name. Amen.
Give me the wisdom to ask for the right thing and the guts to do it!