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

by Craig Groeschel

I wonder if sometimes God got bored with my prayers.

The biggest mistake I made in my prayer life, the reason my prayers were so lame, is because I prayed too safely.

Praying from the heart is personal and unmistakable.

Your prayers matter. How you pray matters. What you pray matters. Your. Prayers. Move. God.

Our ways are not God’s ways. That’s why we need Christ. Not just to forgive us, but to transform us. To redirect us. To make us new.

The most common lies are the ones we tell ourselves.

Instead of simply asking God to do something for me, I asked him to reveal something in me.

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

convincing? Isn’t convicting? Doesn’t move your heart? Our fears matter. Because ultimately, our fears show how we’re relying on our own efforts and not trusting in our Savior. 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).

Your greatest fear may point you to your best chance at making a difference in the world.

As God reveals your fears, he will also build your faith. You need him.

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

Bless me. Enlarge my territory.

But if that’s our only desire, our biggest priority, then we may miss the perseverance that our trials produce.

you may have to ask God to break you.

“My only promise for you is this: God will break you.”

“It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply.”

We are each called to die daily. To be broken and poured out. To become dependent on God’s Spirit. To rely on him for our comfort, our guidance, our source of power.

Isaiah didn’t just read about God or hear others talk about God. He saw the Lord. He experienced God’s presence in a unique way. If

What if you told God you were available? And you looked for at least one opportunity daily to do something that required faith?

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim. Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizon of our hopes; and to push back the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.