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Shameless Audacity

Then Jesus said the them, "Suppose you have a friend, an you go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.'  And suppose the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me.  The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed.  I can't get up and give you anything.'  I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.  So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."  Luke 11:5-10

I have read this verse quite a few times, but this time the phrase "shameless audacity" stuck out to me.  The dictionary definition of audacity is "a willingness to take bold risks".  The verse says that mere friendship might not have gotten the man out of bed to help, but his friend's shameless audacity to ask for help is what did it.

Of course, prayer requests are not guaranteed results just because we are constantly hounding Christ.  Prayer is actually to help us align with the Lord's will and ways for our lives.  The Lord is also the one who knows if the prayers we are praying are beneficial to us or if they will need to be rearranged, tweaked or forgotten altogether to best benefit us.

One passage I keep going back to is in Luke 1.  Zechariah is John the Baptist's dad and he and his wife, Elizabeth, had wished for a child for their entire lives, but now they were old and it still hadn't happened.  So, one day, he was working in the temple and was the one chosen to go into the temple and burn incense.  During that time, an angel appeared to him and told him he and Elizabeth would have a boy and they were to call him John.  The angel went on to tell him amazing things that his son would accomplish and be used for.  But, instead of being thrilled that their prayers had been answered, he questioned the angel.  I suppose he legitimately asked how because they were so old.  Makes sense to me.  But, the angel told him because he didn't believe the word, he would be unable to speak until the child was born.

Whoops.  Finally got the answer to a long-awaited prayer and still couldn't rejoice!  I found myself in a similar situation this week.  An amazing answer to prayer came by way of an unexpected person and I was floored.  The thought went through my head, "I can't believe the Lord did that!"  But, as it began to cross the ticker of my mind, I stopped it and thought about Zechariah.  

We pray and pray, but when answer comes, if it's not cookie cutter exact to what we prayed for or expected, we question the Lord or miss the miracle altogether.  My Bible noted that though Zechariah was a righteous man, he still needed to learn to trust God for  what he deemed impossible.

Lesson learned this week?  I will have shameless audacity to trust God for what I deem impossible.  And, while I'm seeking Him, I'm needing to remember that He already knows my needs...He already knows the miracles that are cued up waiting for the exact moment they will be able to do the most amount of amazing in my life.  Just like the answer to prayer I received this week!  That answer wasn't exactly as I've been praying, but it was a beautiful reminder that He is working all things together for GOOD for them that love Him and are called according to His purpose! 

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