DEVOTION / Pray humungous prayers

[God] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine… (Ephesians 3:20).

Prayers at the board meeting

At the end of its annual meeting in late May, 316NOW's board of directors and administrators stood in a circle and prayed. Everyone added their personal petitions.

We had just finished laying plans for the next three years of our ministry so many prayers focused on the task ahead, challenges we cannot meet without the Spirit's power. Others prayed for the spiritual health and safety of our friends in China. Prayers for the gospel to come to more of China's 1.4 billion people rose to the Father's throne. Some offered thanksgiving for our Savior, his forgiveness, and shepherding.

An especially humungous prayer

One petition especially stood out for me. We asked the Holy Spirit to bring the president of China, along with the rest of China's leaders, to faith in Jesus. That is a humungous prayer request. But is in not unprecedented.

After the Spirit brought Roman emperor Constantine (306-337) to faith, everything changed for the early Church. No longer was the Church illegal. No longer were Christians persecuted for their faith.  Christians were able to build churches, train leaders, and broadly share the gospel—all in the open.

Does the conversion of China’s communist leaders seem impossible? It does to me. But nothing is impossible for the God who loved us to death—and loves us into life.

Pray humungous prayers

We can pray humongous prayers because our God is infinitely humongous and he loves us with an infinitely humongous love and he promises to answer our humongous prayers.

[God] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. That gives us permission to pray bigger prayers than we can imagine.

Pray humungous prayers.