He is the God who moves the hearts of kings and causes the seasons to change, and He is the Father who provides our daily bread, whatever form that takes. Because of who God is, we can’t pray anything too big or too small.

We should not be afraid to pray big prayers. There are lots of them in the Bible:

• Joshua prayed that the sun would stand still in the sky (Josh. 10:12-14).
• Elijah prayed for fire from heaven and then rain to end a severe drought (1 Kings 18).
• Nehemiah prayed for the heart of a pagan king to be moved (Neh. 1:10-12).

Sometimes we don’t pray big prayers because we have been disappointed in the answers to our previous prayers and we don’t want to feel that disappointment again. Sometimes we are afraid to pray big prayers because we lack the faith that God can and will respond to them. Sometimes we are afraid because it just feels foolish to do so.

We shouldn’t be afraid to pray big prayers like these. These accounts, and others, give us permission to do so. We pray big prayers because we have a big God for whom nothing is impossible. As the children of God, we have the enormous privilege of petitioning. We can come to God with big prayers. Prayers for nations. For leaders. For culture and society. For healing. For huge changes in trajectory. For people resistant and blind to the truth of the gospel to be awakened and brought to spiritual life. We can come to God because He is not only our Father. 

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