Oops PRAYERS.

I often watch the live stream from the prayer room at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. Recently, they were singing this refrain over and over again:

"I'm Yours to take and break, just make me sensitive to You.
 I've come to far to turn around now, there's nothing that I wouldn't do
 To hear Your words of life, Lord, to be as close to you as any man has ever dared to come."

What a beautiful cry! Doesn't that sound great? Maybe something inside of you quickened as you read those words. If so, make those words your prayer and your heart's desire. But beware.

Beware, because this is what I call an "oops prayer." An "oops prayer" is a prayer in which you authentically desire the outcome, but in which you haven't realized what it will take to get there.

As I prayed and sang those words, what I was really thinking was, "I'm Yours...make me sensitive to you...I want to hear Your words of life and be close to You!" The problem is, in my heart I was ignoring the means to the end I desired.

The bittersweet news is that God always answers this type of prayer, but He doesn't ignore the means to the end. If you want to be closer to Him, He'll give you opportunity after opportunity to draw close and get to know Him.

The problem is it often hurts.

He breaks you.

He allows hard situations and difficulties to come your way, so that you learn to trust Him and give up your independence.

It's not fun.

It's uncomfortable.

And it takes time.

Just this morning I was thinking, "Oops...maybe I should really watch what I sing and pray a little more closely."

But the truth is, being close to Him is exactly what my heart - and your heart - longs for. It's why we were created.

But we won't be close to Him unless we embrace the pain as a chance to draw near to Him. We'll miss out on all that He has for us if we try to run from brokenness. We have to allow the hurts and disappointments of our lives to draw us into His love and embrace.

You can trust Him. He won't fail you. He loves you. He loves you. He loves you. Don't harden your heart because of difficulties or disappointments. Come to Him and learn to embrace the journey, no matter how hard it is. 

Because the end is worth the means.

Grace and peace,

JP Hennessy, youth director