Big, Little, Often

When I was in fifth grade, my parents separated. My mom picked us up from school one day, she took me to the doctor (I had strep) and then my two sisters, my brother, and myself went to the park. My mom sat us down near a bridge and told us that we weren’t going to go home. We were going to move out because my dad was becoming increasingly volatile and she was scared. So, we went to my grandma’s, and then moved into an apartment a few weeks later. My dad was not so thrilled. He was kind enough to give us our beds to sleep in, our clothes, and some toys, but that was it. Not much was in our home.

It was at some point during this that my mom and I went to Wal-Mart after school. I’m not sure why we went or why it was just us, but the two of us walked through the store, getting a few items we needed. When we reached the kitchen supplies, I saw these dishes. They were red and green and had roosters on them. I asked my mom “If we don’t get the dishes from Dad, can we get these”? She said “I don’t know, but we can pray for them”. So there we were, a pre-teen awkward girl and her tired mom praying in the middle of Wal-Mart for God to provide dishes for us.

The next day, we went to school as usual. I remember this time as one of extreme anxiety, and this day was no different. But, when my mom pulled up to get us, my teacher stopped us. She said she had something for our family. She ran inside the school building and came back out with a bag. The bag contained the exact dishes my mom and I had prayed for. It was the first time in my life I had prayed for something extraordinary. And He answered.

Today, my pastor said to pray and notice the ordinary things God does. Notice the slow melting of a hard heart, thank Him for years of health and fortune, pray for our daily drive, our day at work, our time with family, and notice the work He is doing. Most of His work is slow, steady, and ordinary. It’s one you look back and see over the decades. Like a stone, smoothed and rounded by the constant flow of a river.

But he also encouraged us to pray for the extraordinary and expect it. Maybe we pray for a total healing of cancer, maybe we pray for a baby, a new job, a restored marriage.

I’ve been praying for miracles.

Every time I pray it is not for something like that. My prayers are usually quite ordinary. Thank you for our jobs, our home, our cars, help us to enjoy our day, protect our home, keep us healthy, etc. And I watch God answer those prayers. Recently, I’ve been praying for big things and I fully expect God to answer them. I’ve been praying for the soul of my son, I’ve been praying for my marriage, I’ve been praying for a home we can afford, and for the healing of a family member.

I’m praying for big things. And I’m living in expectation that God will answer, because He can. What are you praying for? What would it look like to pray huge prayers and wait expectantly? Pray big, pray little, pray often and wait expectantly for God to answer.

 

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Kacy Davis lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband, Collin. She is a special education teacher and advocate of those with special needs and loves her job. She spends her time riding bikes with her husband, running, reading, and enjoying those she loves. Kacy believes in reinventing what it means to be a woman and wife who loves the Lord and longs to help others learn to love the Lord with abandon, freedom, and a greater understanding of grace. She writes here.
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