BIG PRAYERS

“Open your mouth wide and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10).

This summer a pair of robins built a mud nest in a sheltered spot on our deck. Every day we watched the mother sitting calmly on her eggs, waiting for the arrival of her new family. How we wanted to see those little chicks! So whenever the mother flew off, we’d climb up the ladder and peek into the nest. First we counted four sky blue eggs. But in a few days, those eggs cracked open and four naked chicks emerged.

As the little robins grew, we didn’t need the ladder anymore. If we sat quietly on the deck, we could see the tops of 4 downy chicks. And when their mama arrived with breakfast, all we could see were four mouths, open so wide, all you could see was mouth!

I always think of those baby birds when I read Psalm 81:10: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide and I will fill it.” For even before those babies saw any kind of food, they opened their mouths WIDE. They anticipated a big meal, opening their little beaks so they could get it all. 

When we come to Jesus, do we pray with the same anticipation as these little birds? Do we expect big things from God? Or do we settle for just a meager blessing? God wants us to expect big things from Him. He is a big God, isn’t He? Doesn’t He have all power in heaven and earth? So why are we afraid to reach for the sky when God is able to do far more than we could ever ask or think? 

Think for a moment about all that this promise implies. Who exactly Is standing behind these words? Don’t skip over the first part too quickly—“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” Before God tells us to do anything, He reminds us to look at who He is. 

• He is your Lord, your Redeemer, who set you free and delivered you from slavery.

• He is the same God who sent ten crippling plagues upon Egypt, to reveal that He is God of all, more powerful than all the gods man can ever invent.

• He is the One who led you to the brink of the Red Sea, guiding you through a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He has been with you every step of your exodus.

• And when Pharoah and all his soldiers chased after you and you were hemmed in by the mountains, with no way of escape, your God parted the Red Sea so you could cross on dry land. Then He released His hold on the waters and they came back together, swallowing up your enemies with all their horses and chariots.

This same God, who delivered you with such a mighty hand and a flexed arm says to you today—“Open your mouth WIDE and I will fill it.” 

Have you ever realized that Jesus saved you to bless you? And not with just a little blessing, but with all the treasures of heaven! “His divine power has given to us ALL things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3,4). 

God’s power makes all things available to you and me—that means everything that we possibly need to walk with Jesus and perfectly reflect His character before the world! But this power can't be separated from Jesus. It comes through the “knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.”

Do you know God? Have you seen how big He really is? He has all power at His command. And this same power can be yours and mine as we grab ahold of His promises.

For “the creative energy that called the worlds into existence is in the word of God. This word imparts power; it begets life! Every command is a promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, it brings with it the LIFE of the Infinite One” (Education, pg. 126). Is it any wonder that Jesus is called the Word of God? 

His very presence is packed into every word He speaks. God is in His Word and that Word is packed with power. Power to move mountains. Power to drive Satan away. Power to have new life in Christ. Whatever is blocking your view of Jesus or keeping you from receiving the fullness of God, you’ll find the remedy in God's Word. You'll find the power to overcome it.

So dream big. Pray big. And expect big things from God. He is able to “do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).