Thinking BIG

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts."

                                                      Isaiah 55:8-9

It was another night of wonderful refreshment at Ignite Training Conference. Tonight, Gary Millar's talk was titled "Learning to pray in an instant world", based on the passage in Ephesians 1:15-21.

The thing that struck me most about the talk is the great difference between God's ways and our ways. We are like demanding children, wanting to have exactly what we want NOW, unable to see the bigger picture, unable to see the problems with our desires. We think we know exactly what we need, and whine to our Father when we don't get what we thought we needed. (We are such spoilt brats!). And when we don't get what we want, we become disappointed and have the audacity to say that "prayer doesn't 'work'".

God works according to HIS own pace, not ours. We forget this often, but God's never in a great hurry. "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. " (2 Peter 3:8-9a) He's taken a few thousand years to present the solution to sin, he can afford to take a few years to sort out your personal problems. It may seem a lifetime to us, but we need to remember that God has much, much, bigger things in mind than we do. Humans are always in a hurry to get this or that done - and even more so in this instant generation - but God is wiser than we are and knows what needs to be done when.

God works according to HIS own agenda, not ours. Our prayers are often far too small!! Not that He doesn't care for our bad back, our financial situation, our strained relationships, etc, but when you think of these things in light of the GREATER plan of Salvation and the Good News of the Gospel, these things really pale in comparison. Why pray for good health when an illness would provide you an opportunity to step into someone else's shoes and allow you to share the Gospel with them where they're at? Why pray for wealth, when that would simply work to draw you away from being totally dependant on God? Why pray for a life without problems, when these problems are so effective in shaping our character? Our field of vision is too small, and we simply do not comprehend the magnitude of God's Plans. He's working to weave the amazing tapestry of the Gospel Story, and here we are worried about our own little piece of thread.

It reminds me of an analogy that CS Lewis had written about, where a child refuses an offer for a trip to the beach in favour of spending time in his little mudpit. Because the child could not understand the AWESOMENESS of the beach, he chooses to keep playing in the mud rather than to go to that which we know is better. Like that child, we often think that we know what we want, and we get so easily satisfied with so very little! Instead, we should listen to our Father and realise how much MORE He is willing to give us, if only we would take His hand and walk with Him.

Think Big. Dream Big. Pray Big.

Keep praying; don't lose heart. It's going to take a while, and take a lot of effort.

But in the end, it is well worth waiting for :)