Stop Waiting on God

  My brother once told me a story about a really bad flood. No, not the one the bible speaks of with Noah. This flood he told me about was in Eastern Missouri. It was on the Mississippi River I believe.

  James told me about a guy that lived out on a farm and was a deeply religious man. I can't remember his name, lets call him Darrell. So the river started rise and the water actually mad it all the way to Darrell's Farm. Not just to the farm, it started to rise around the house. Within a few hours, the water was up to the rafters and it forced Darrell out onto the roof. He realized that he pretty much needed a miracle at this point, as the water was still rising fast.

Actual flooding in Missouri

  He prayed a bold prayer. "God, save me!" Not long after this prayer, a man in a small John Boat paddled up and called out to Darrell. Darrell quickly explained that he would be fine, God was going to save him. Despite the man in the boat pleading with him, Darrell would not be swayed. Not long after the first man, a larger boat manned by the sheriff motored up to the roof. The sheriff and the other people in the boat begged Darrell to come with them to safety, but Darrell again insisted that God was going to save him! Not 15 mins after that boat, a helicopter flew over, returned, and hoovered over the house. By this time, Darrell was standing atop the chimney, with the water up to his knees and rising fast. After 4-5 attempts to pick up Darrell, the helicopter was finally waved off and they left Darrell.

  The water continued to rise and lead to Darrell's unfortunate demise. He arrived in heaven and was immediately brought to God. He was asked why he was there. Darrell angrily shouted that he had prayed for God to save him, but God had done nothing to rescue him from his situation. God shook his head and stated, "I sent you a small boat, a large boat, and a helicopter. What more did you want from me?"

  While this story is utterly fictitious, it brings to mind a very valid point. We often find ourselves in situations where we cry out to God to save us. Then we wait. We wait for God to solve all our problems. We wait for miracles to happen. While I believe that God can solve your problems and can make miracles happen, I also believe he much more often works in very practical ways.

  Is it possible that the situation in which you find yourself, can be solved by the gifts God has already given you? Could your answer already be in front of you, but you are too busy waiting on miracles to happen? Perhaps your miracle is your talent, your personality, your drive, or your character?

  Prayer was NEVER meant to be a substitute for hard work.

   Pray and then get busy using what God has already blessed you with. Pray, do your best, try your hardest, be creative, and leave the results to God. Don't leave all the work at the hands of God. He wants you to do the work, he wants to provide the victory.

(Some people are in situations that are far beyond their control, and that is totally understandable. I believe that the number of these people are a small fraction of the people waiting on God to do all the work. If you are in a situation that is completely out of your control, prayer may be your first and last recourse. If this is the case, message me so I can join you in your prayer. Email me at: Josh@audacitychurch.tv

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Now it's time for you to get involved in this blog: Do you believe God answers prayers? If so, what is the biggest prayer you have ever seen answered?

Audacious Prayer

We are straight up told to go boldly before God. I love seeing examples in scripture of men like Joshua, Elijah, Moses, and Gideon praying some HUGE prayers. I want to be like that. To have faith that moves mountains, that carries me through hard times, and that defies the notion that something cannot be done.

When I moved to Wichita, I realized that in order to do the work that God was calling me to in Wichita, I needed to do it full time. To do it full time, I needed funding. Funding that I do not have. I began the process of raising support, of building a team and a network of like minded Christ followers that want to see God move in a HUGE way. My Audacious prayer is that God would move in the hearts of people so that we can see Wichita encounter God.  I'm in one of those places right now where I have seen God working so much that I cannot turn back now, but I have so far to go that I struggle with knowing how I'm going to get where he is leading me. 

I find it VERY difficult to rely on other believers to support me and my wife for the next 24 months while we are getting Audacity up and running. However, I am slowly remembering that I don't need to. I am to rely on God, the creator of the universe, the one who gives life, props up nations, and commands the galaxies. When placed in perspective, it is pretty logical to believe he can scrape together the funding needed to get me and my wife through the next few years!  My Audacious prayer for you is that you would encounter Jesus Christ in a way that blows your mind. When you find out what God has planned for your life, you have a brighter future just from knowing there is a plan. 

2 Days ago I prayed that God would provide Audacity with a building that is currently listed at $3Million.  Today that building is listed at $1.6 Million. Still out of our price range, but way closer that it was before! I'm done praying small short sighted prayers that limit God to my realm of possibility. I'm not going to but my God in a box.

Keeper of the Plains: Photo taken from Intuit Wichita

*The thoughts and opinions in this blog are solely those of the author and are not to be taken as the views of Audacity Church itself. For more information on Audacity Church check out www.audacitychurch.tv