Expect to be surprised

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. (Galatians 1:15–17)

Paul learned early that in serving God he had to make room for Him. That is, when he planned or even prayed that this and that would happen, he realized that the will of God could surprise him

God isn’t a puppet or a genie in a bottle. We often tack “according to your will” on the ends of our prayers without fully grasping the reality that God does as He chooses. I’m certain that He even enjoys surprising me with answers to my prayers that I did not expect.

Paul hinted at God’s surprises in several places, but I particularly like this one:

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20–21)

The KJV translates this as: “Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think . . .” and from this and years of experience, I can say that I’ve never been able to second-guess God. I might tell Him what I would like Him to do, but have learned that His ways are not my ways. He has far better plans than I could ever imagine. Time and time again, He has proven this true with surprises upon surprises.

Chambers says do not look for God to come in any particular way, but just look for Him. That is the way to make room for Him. I can expect Him to come, and expect Him to answer, but cannot expect Him only in a certain way. Even after years of getting to know Him, it is common to overlook this element of surprise. When Peter was in jail, Christians prayed for his release yet were so surprised when he showed up at their prayer meeting that the woman who answered the door left him standing there while she ran to tell the others.

God never works in predictable ways. What He does is always beyond what I hoped for, better than my imagination (and I have a very active imagination). He does what is according to His good pleasure!

Chambers offer this advice: “Keep your life so constant in its contact with God that His surprising power may break out on the right hand and on the left. Always be in a state of expectancy, and see that you leave room for God to come in as He likes.” The key here is trusting Him to do as He likes — for He is God and I am not.

This gives me great expectations to face the challenges of today and of this new week!

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Bob finally got some sleep during the night and is more alert today. His nose is sore from the increased oxygen, but at least he is not short of breath. His feet are still swollen and he has lots of bruising from the blood thinners. His doctor wrote on the whiteboard in his room that his expected release from the hospital would be “greater than 5 days.” We played cribbage today, which he could not have done a couple days ago. All these improvements are answers to prayer, but as he says, he is still very sick. His lungs are not any clearer even though he more easily breathes and moves around. We are both thankful for the prayers of God’s people and know that the Lord hears them all.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:22–26)

Big prayers . . .

Most days I go outside to pray and walk. During that time, I get some of my best ideas. Some of them are solutions to problems. Others are direction for the day or clear indication what to do about issues on my heart.

God is like that with prayer. He speaks and I’m learning to listen. However, His promptings are sometimes unexpected. Consider Paul. Right after his conversion, logically he would link up with mature Christians to be mentored, but that was not the case . . .

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. (Galatians 1:15–17)

The Bible says very little about what happened to this great Christian leader while he was in Arabia, except that it was not a short visit. Obviously God urged him to go there, and met him in that unusual location to give the instruction he needed for the task he’d been called to do.

In the Old Testament, one of Joshua’s prayers resulted in a creative and controversial event that must have shocked this man even as he said it . . .

At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel. (Joshua 10:12–14)

A few scientists think they have proven this true (many think otherwise), but the validity of amazing answers to prayer isn’t about proof. Instead, this is more about the answer to these questions: “How big is your God?” Can’t He do whatever He wants to do?

Jesus said that faith in prayer gives us power. He told one person that “All things are possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23) For me, that means being open to God when I pray. Does He seem to suggest that I pray outlandish requests? I’m pragmatic, hard to convince, and yet not totally skeptical. When I pray, sometimes God puts odd thoughts in my mind, thoughts like, “Why pray for only those few cult members when you know I can change the lives of their entire membership?”

Praying such huge prayers does not mean that I have to be a super saint. The Bible says, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” (James 5:17–18)

The Bible is clear about this; praying ‘big’ prayers has little to do with who I am and a great deal to do with the size and power of my God.