Dangerous Prayers: Because Following Jesus Was Never Meant to Be Safe

by Craig Groeschel

Praying from the heart is personal and unmistakable.

In fact, reading prayers can be a good starting point in learning to pray your own. Over time, though, if you want to know God intimately, you will begin to pray more unscripted prayers that come straight from your heart.

Instead of a safe, all-about-me prayer, you might pray for others first, hurting for them, hoping for them, reaching out to God on their behalf.

Instead of just asking for protection and safety, you might ask what God wants you to do and where he wants you to go.

Rather than always asking him for more, you might praise him for all the blessings he’s already poured into your life. Recognizing all these blessings, you ...

Instead of just checking a box, your prayers might actually change eternity, shaking hell, scaring demons, and enlarging heaven. Sound extreme? I promise you it’s not. More importantly, God promises. If you call out to ...

It’s easy to pretend we are good at heart, but the Bible teaches us that our heart deceives us and is desperately wicked. At its core, our heart is all about self—not Christ.

David could have plotted to harm King Saul, justifying his actions in the name of self-preservation. But instead of taking the easy path, David chose a more daring one. The “man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14) decided to pray, knowing that his own heart was capable of tricking him again and again.

I gave God lip service, but my heart was wicked. I talked the talk, but I didn’t walk the walk. I pretended to be a Christian, but I didn’t know the Christ.

“Lord, reveal what holds my mind hostage. Show me what I fear the most. Go ahead, help me face what terrifies me.”

God showed me that what I feared the most revealed where I trusted God the least.

The things that kept me awake at night were the things that I wasn’t trusting God to handle.

Our fears matter. Because ultimately, our fears show how we’re relying on our own efforts and not trusting in our Savior.

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The truth is we—you and I and everyone—are always inadequate. We’re never enough. We’re always weak. But here’s the incredible thing: when we’re weak, God’s power is made perfect (see 2 Cor. 12:9).

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Faith doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Faith means you don’t let fear stop you.

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If you’re like me, you’re good at accusing others, and equally good at excusing yourself.

She suggested that if more than two people that you love and trust suggest you have a problem, you should recognize that you have a problem and deal with it immediately.

As you ask God to show you if you have any offensive ways, start with what others have mentioned to you.

when I’m defensive, that’s an indication I need to pay close attention and be open to what God wants to show me.

If someone is suggesting a change in your life and you bark back, instead of barking, you would be wise to listen.

If you sense that God is convicting you of something and you are quick to tell him why you don’t need to change, this is a clear signal to pause and heed his warning.

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Would you ask God to show you if this is something he would have you change?

becoming obsessed with what people think about me is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about me. Being obsessed with the approval of others is, in a word, idolatry.

Wherever you are weak, his strength is there. Wherever you are hurting, his comfort is available. When you are tempted, his grace will give you a way out.

Let your fears drive you to God. The fear of God is the only cure for the fear of people.

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Even though trials are never fun or easy to endure, God can often use them for his purposes. In fact, James, the half-brother of Jesus, was bold enough to tell us we should be thankful for the way God uses hardship to perfect us: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2–4).

If we pray only for protection from trials, then we rob ourselves of our future maturity. “Lord, keep me free from pain” feels like the right thing to pray—and often is. But if that’s our only desire, our biggest priority, then we may miss the perseverance that our trials produce. “God, protect me from harm” seems wise to pray—and can be. But it’s the challenges in life that help us mature and draw us closer to Christ.

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He always has my best interests in mind. But for me to be wholly useful to him, I’d have to be empty of myself.

To be wholly useful to God, we have to be empty of self.

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We don’t realize what blessings might be on the other side of God’s breaking.

Some theologians believe the only women who wore perfume were “the women of the streets.” The fragrance was a form of advertising. Those who wore perfume were sending a bold and fragrant message, “I’m available . . . for a price.” So when this woman broke open the bottle and poured out the valuable cologne, she wasn’t just parting with the money she had earned. She was parting with her past, her profession, her livelihood.

Jesus, here’s my life. It’s all yours. I’m holding nothing back.

Who wants to be “broken” and “poured out”? That sounds painful at best, miserable at worst. But it’s in the giving of our lives that we find true joy.

Jesus isn’t inviting us to a life of comfort and ease, but one of surrender and sacrifice.

Jesus is inviting us to die to our own lives, so we can live moment by moment, day by day—for him. To leave our cozy living rooms and safe prayers in order to know what it means to be broken for the sake of others.

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What if when Jesus said “do this,” he wasn’t just talking about a ritual that we do occasionally at church? What if he was also inviting us to be broken and poured out daily? What if he was inviting us to a life of humility, sacrifice, generosity, and joy?

What if, instead of praying, “God watch over me, protect me, and bless me,” we invited God to do something deeper in our lives?

Although God doesn’t say yes to all my prayers, somehow, I knew he was likely to answer this one.

When you are broken, you will know it. There will be no question. You will not have to ask.

It’s easy to impress people with our strengths, but real connections are forged through our shared weaknesses.

Paco got the best advice from a fellow tinnitus sufferer. The guy explained that the noise would never go away. And the only way you can endure it is to get closer to God than you’ve ever been and pour out your life serving other people.

John explained to me that tinnitus is the worst pain he could ever imagine. And yet, by God’s grace, he’d never been closer to God than he was in that moment. He told me that in brokenness, he found joy.

In our brokenness, we often experience God’s greatest blessings.

Being broken isn’t just a moment in time born out of a painful event. It’s a daily choice to die to pride. To crucify lust. To destroy selfishness. Rather than living a life of ease, it’s a choice to live a life of faith.

When things get difficult, many run from God. Don’t do that. Run to him. And don’t fight the breaking. Forget trying to appear strong. Be weak. Be vulnerable. Be broken. It’s in your weakness that you discover his strength.

Rather than asking God to serve us, what if we told God we are available to serve him?

“Ask not what God can do for you, but ask God what you can do for him?”

This type of dangerous prayer of submission is not easy to pray, especially if you don’t have a deep trust and reverence for God.

When was the last time you had such an encounter with God that you were left in awe at his glory and holiness?

Meditate on his character. Consider that God is the Creator of heaven and earth (Gen. 14:19). Scripture calls him God of glory (Ps. 29:3), the great I am (Ex. 3:14), and righteous Father (John 17:25). God is our fortress of salvation (Ps. 28:8) and the eternal King (Jer. 10:10). He is the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3), the God of all grace (1 Peter 5:10), and the God of peace (1 Thess. 5:23). He is the Almighty (Gen. 49:25), both compassionate and gracious (Ex. 34:6), and he is a consuming fire (Deut. 4:24).