Give it to us today
Author
Dr. Roberto Miranda
Summary: We often pray with a lack of faith, using generic and vague language to leave room for an escape clause in case our specific and identifiable miracle doesn't happen. This represents an act of mild spiritual cowardice. Instead, we should put meat in our prayers and submit bold and ambitious requests with specific dates, exercising faith in the Lord. God likes these kinds of prayers and actions that put him to the test. We must trust in the mercy and faithfulness of the Lord, and not doubt.
It takes a lot of faith to ask God for a specific and identifiable miracle that requires a verifiable answer in time and space. Many times our prayers are generic and vague, secretly providing the Lord (or us!) A more or less honorable way out in case the miracle we ask for does not happen. By means of subtle language, we stretch the time frame in which the answer can be given, we make room for an answer in the natural plane, or we add "if it is your will", just in case! Ultimately, this represents an act of mild spiritual cowardice, and we all fall for that practice at some point or another.
By this we do not mean that we do not recognize the sovereignty of the Lord, or that we intend to force him to answer our prayers in only one way. Rather, we are referring to those times when this kind of "escape clause" stems from a lack of faith on our part, from a doubt as to whether God really still works miracles.
I like that "give it to us today" of Jesus in the Lord's Prayer. If the supply of bread that he was submitting was not given "today," it would have been very easy to detect the failure of his prayer!
Sometimes we will have to dive headlong into the action of faith, trusting that the Lord will not allow us to be put to shame, putting aside our doubts and committing ourselves to the grace of the Lord. Sometimes we will have to say desperate and reckless prayers in front of our family and friends, knowing that they represent a risk to our pride or our public image if they are not given, but that there is no alternative.
When Mordecai challenged Queen Esther to appear before King Ahasuerus without prior permission and intercede for the Hebrew people, she knew that if she did so she was in danger of death under the law of Persia. After overcoming her fears, Esther determines a course of action and utters the famous words: "If I perish, let me perish."
Sometimes the time for waiting and deliberation runs out, and we must proceed boldly, without an escape door behind us, simply trusting in the mercy and faithfulness of the Lord. God likes bold and ambitious prayers and actions that put him to the test, and that show a warrior faith on our part. On the other hand, generic and abstract sentences leave you cold, and it is very possible that they will not receive your answer.
The Apostle James invites us to ask the Lord. But he adds: “But ask in faith, not doubting anything; because he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, which is blown away by the wind and thrown from one part to another. Let no one think that he will receive anything from the Lord ”(James 1: 6 and 7).
Put meat in your prayers, and submit to the Lord bold and ambitious, specific and dateable requests, and exercise in the attitude of faith. You will surprise with the results!