Ask Big. Trust Bigger.

Prayer has always fascinated me. Not just the idea of prayer—but the expectations behind it. Because if we are honest, most of us pray somewhere between two extremes. On one end, some people treat prayer like a vending machine. Put in the request, press the right button, and expect God to deliver exactly what we ordered. On the other end, some of us pray almost apologetically. We whisper small prayers because we are not sure God really wants to get involved in the details of our lives.

I have noticed something about my own prayers over the years. Sometimes I pray very safe prayers.

“Lord, just help everything work out.”

“Lord, just bless this situation.”

“Lord, just be with us.”

Those are not wrong prayers—but they are also not very bold prayers. But when you read the Bible, the people of God often prayed very big prayers.

Moses prayed for seas to split.

Joshua prayed for the sun to stand still.

Elijah prayed for rain to stop…for three and a half years.

And when we come to the book of James, James challenges believers to pray in a way that is both bold and trusting. In other words: Ask Big. Trust Bigger.

A Roadmap for Prayer

As we read the letter of James, we see that James doesn’t leave the topic of trials behind but begins to help Christians develop resiliency in the trials. He shares that we are going to need wisdom, an intentional prayer life, and an unwavering faith.

James 1:5–8 NIV

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

If we are honest, prayer can be confusing for many Christians. Because we have all experienced moments where: We prayed… We believed… And the answer did not come the way we hoped. Some of us have prayed for healing. Some have prayed for family members. Some have prayed for God to intervene in situations that never changed.

So, we live in this tension: Should we pray big prayers? Or should we protect ourselves from disappointment by praying small ones?

James writes to believers who were experiencing trials and hardship, and he gives them something incredibly practical: A roadmap for how to pray when life gets hard.

A Roadmap to BIG Prayers

Prayers for Wisdom are Big Prayers

We know that any time we ask God for wisdom, God is pleased. Do you remember the prayer of Solomon when he received the throne of Israel after his father David? He did not ask for power or wealth, he asked for wisdom and God showered him not only with wisdom but also power and wealth. James tells believers that we should do the same.

James 1:5 NIV

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Big Prayers Stand on Solid Faith

This is what James says and I’ll admit, it seems like a very bold statement.

James 1:6–8 NIV

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

I have to admit that some of my prayers can be like the desperate last chance passes in football called the “Hail Mary”. I do have uncertainty at times, so does my uncertainty exclude me? On the other hand, are we supposed to believe that whatever we ask in faith will happen?

There was a father who brought his possessed son to the disciples who couldn’t help and by the time he spoke to Jesus his statement was, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” I often feel more like this father that the believer James is teaching. So, how do we reconcile this?

1. James agrees with Jesus.

Matthew 7:7–8 NIV

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

2. The Struggle is Real

The father’s cry reveals that there can arise a struggle between faith and unbelief, and that it is not without a struggle that we come to believe in Jesus and in His all-power to heal the sick.[1]

3. Incomplete Faith and Yet Believe

For us, it is possible to have an honest acknowledgement of our incomplete faith and yet believe intellectually in the power of God.

4. James’ Definition of Faith

For James, faith in prayer means faith in the God who sovereignly accomplishes his will. When we pray, our faith will necessarily include this recognition, explicit or implicit, of the overruling providential purposes of God. [2]

In recent years we have had loved ones who have suffered illnesses. We prayed believing God could and would heal. Instead, they received their reward and went to heaven. You, we, did right. It was not a lack of faith. It was God’s sovereign will. If, anyone else gets sick, we will again believe by faith in God that He can and will heal. We know He is sovereign and the healing will rest in His hands.

You may remember from last week that James introduced topics with quick snippets, but he circles back to the topics later on. For this one on prayer, let’s jump ahead to James 4 and see what else he adds about prayer:

James 4:1–3 NIV

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Big Prayers Start with Great Motives

James describes fights, quarrels, killing, and coveting. What a picture of the Bride of Christ! But we get it. In the South we have the phrase, “Bless their hearts!” which is often followed by a complaint. It is appropriate to pray that someone will change…

After all, that is what we do when we pray for conversions, for hearts to be softened, or for bad habits or addictions to be broken. But too often the motive behind such a request is not an authentic concern for the other person—it often stems from selfish motivations. A more realistic interpretation of the prayer might be, “I do not want to face my own shortcomings. I do not want to work on this relationship. I do not want to have to change at all. Instead, I want the other person to accommodate all my personal needs, so I am asking you to change him or her.” If you pray that kind of prayer, God may say no (Hybels 1998, 77).[3]

All of us have prayed selfish prayers before. “Lord, let the Buffalo Bills make it to the Super Bowl!” Just kidding (sort of). But we have prayed that God fix our spouse or give us something that we really shouldn’t have. There is a 36-year-old song by Garth Brooks called, Thank God for Unanswered Prayers. It tells the story of the singer going back to his hometown and running into a woman that he thought was the woman of his dreams as a young man. As a wiser man now, he realized that she wouldn’t have been good for him. God knew better and he is now thankful God didn’t answer them.

How do we know that we are praying Big Prayers? In my devotions earlier this week I was reading about the exodus and how Moses would pray in the morning as the cloud of the Lord would begin to move forward.

Numbers 10:35 MSG

With the Chest leading the way, Moses would say, Get up, God! Put down your enemies! Chase those who hate you to the hills!

I like that! It seems weird to command, “Get up, God!” but then Moses says “Put down your enemies! Chase those who hate you to the hills!” If God leads and clears out our enemies, who is left standing? Our motivation needs to rest in the heart of God.

We need to eliminate selfish prayers. With the right motive and attitude, God wants us to…

ASK Big Prayers

Jesus promises in Luke 11 that God wants to reward His children when they ask.

Luke 11:9–13 NIV

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

It seems simple enough. ASK! And as fathers, mothers, coworkers…adults…we would like to be asked, not assumed. God wants us to ask!

Added to that, James points out that….

Every Situation is an Opportunity to Pray Big

James 5:13 NIV

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

James instructs the believers to pray our way through trouble, for healing, and in confession of our sins. It is easy enough to understand our need for prayer when we are in trouble.

James 5:14–16 NIV

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

To modern congregations, prayer by the elders with anointing oil may sound a bit strange to us. And the connection between sinfulness and sickness is uncomfortable. So, let’s break it down. Anointing oil in itself does not heal; rather, it is a symbol of Holy Spirit and the power of Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit will raise them up. The act of anointing serves as a tangible expression of faith and dependence on God’s power.

What about confessing our sins to one another? Is this the practice of the Catholic Church where you go and make confession to the priest? No, our priest is Jesus and He is all we need. However, members of the Body of Christ should be able to trust one another and receive support and prayer, especially when they are sick or suffering.[4] Confessing sins to one another is especially important in marriage. We must guard our marriages against sin. A marriage has to have communication. It is going to take some confession and communication to have a strong and vital marriage.

Finally, James encourages us to pray!

James 5:17–18 NIV

Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

James seems to be saying, “You are no different from Elijah. Get after it!”

Let’s Ask Big and Trust Bigger!

Imagine what could happen if a church truly embraced this. A church where people prayed big prayers.

Prayers for revival.

Prayers for prodigals to return.

Prayers for broken marriages to heal.

Prayers for addictions to be broken.

Prayers for God to move in ways we cannot manufacture.

But also a church that trusts bigger.

Trusting God when the answer is yes.

Trusting God when the answer is wait.

And even trusting God when the answer is different than we expected.

Because ultimately prayer is not about getting God to do what we want.

Prayer is about trusting that the God who loves us is already doing what is best. So church…Let’s be the kind of people who: Ask Big.

[1]Andrew Murray, Divine Healing: A Series of Addresses (Nyack, NY: Christian Alliance Publishing Co., 1900), 44.

[2]Douglas J. Moo, James: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 16, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 191.

[3]Cheryl Taylor, Prayer and Worship: An Independent-Study Textbook (Springfield, MO: Global University, 2006), 129.

[4]Bruce B. Barton, David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson, James, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1992), 141.