A Dangerous Prayer

I prayed a dangerous prayer this morning. I prayed that God would give me more opportunities to share my faith with others. Sometimes I feel very protected within my home, within my family, within my ministry...I do not feel as though I have been greatly challenged to "give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (I Peter 3:15). I don't often find myself in situations where people ask me questions about my faith, where I have the chance to clearly profess who it is I believe in and why I believe in him.

And I want to have those opportunities.

Over the past several years, I have seen God take me on an incredible journey of discovery. He has taken me through mountains and valleys, he has taught me so much about Himself and about myself. And about us together. I know that there is so much more to be learned and discovered - I've only just scratched the surface of the iceburg!

But I'm beginning to feel like the Dead Sea (located in the Middle East)... which takes in the fresh water but has no outlet for the water to flow back out. The water there is stagnant. Nothing can live or grow -- which is how it got its name.

I need to have an outlet for all that God has shown and taught me. I want to be able to share God's love with others -- to tell them that they too can be reconciled with a holy and righteous God, that he can lead them through this life with peace, joy and hope. I want to share that Jesus Christ became the one and only sacrifice necessary for that reconciliation, and through his death and resurrection, we can be saved.

I know that there are many who would hear and not respond, but I also know that there are many who are seeking answers, searching for direction and purpose in their lives. There are many who are seeking for their answers in the wrong places -- wrong religions, wrong doctrines, wrong direction. They need Jesus. We all need Jesus.

So, that was my prayer this morning. God, please take me out of my own little comfort zone, my own little cocoon of security, and put me in a place where the rubber can meet the road. Put me in a place where my faith in you can be proclaimed. There are so many Christians in other countries who are literally putting their lives on the line to share their love of Jesus Christ. They are sacrificing so much just to say that they are Christian. May I never take my standing with God for granted.

It's a dangerous prayer, because I know God will answer it. I will have to speak up for Jesus. I will have to let others know where I stand in God's grace. It may cost me a little, it may cost me much, but whatever there is to lose here on earth is to be gained richly in heaven. To God be the glory.

Psalm 146 (New Living Translation)

1 Praise the LORD!
Let all that I am praise the LORD.

2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

3 Don't put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.

4 When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.

5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the LORD their God.

6 He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.

7 He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry.
The LORD frees the prisoners.

8 The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down.
The LORD loves the godly.

9 The LORD protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

10 The LORD will reign forever.
He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.

Praise the LORD!