The Most Dangerous Prayer I Ever Prayed

There are times when the smell of a familiar scent triggers a distant memory and instantly transports us back to another season of life.

For me, the smell of a Marsh Wheeling cigar always brings me into the presence of my father, even though he went home to be with the Lord more than twenty-five years ago.

At other times, a memory surfaces because of an unexpected event. I had the distinct privilege of experiencing that this week.

As a member of a weekly writing mentorship group through Paper Crown Media, one of our writing exercises unexpectedly carried me back to a defining moment in my life - October 20, 2010.

About a year before that date, Jackie and I had been introduced to the financial stewardship teachings of Dave Ramsey.

That introduction came as the direct answer to a desperate, middle-of-the-night prayer when we found ourselves drowning beneath nearly $46,000 of non-mortgage debt.

We had no roadmap, no clear strategy, and no confidence that we could ever escape the burden we had created. Fear and frustration had become our constant companions.

Then God introduced us to HOPE.

A hope that things could be different and a hope completely anchored in Him.

Dave Ramsey's plan wasn't simply a budgeting system for us. It represented the possibility that there actually was a way forward.

Hope that there was an answer.

Hope that we could faithfully walk from where we were to where God wanted us to be.

Hope that one day we will live debt-free.

We also understood a difficult truth. It had taken years, and more than a few foolish decisions, to accumulate that debt. We weren't going to erase it overnight. The only option before us was to remain faithful, trust God, and celebrate each small step of progress.

One evening, after about a year of faithfully working on the plan, I couldn't sleep. I got out of bed to spend some quiet time with the Lord.

I thanked Him for the progress He had already helped us make. Yet deep within me was a longing to see the process move faster.

Then I voiced the most dangerous prayer I ever prayed.

"Father, thank You for helping us over the course of the past year. I'm asking You to accelerate the process...and I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT."

It was a sincere prayer. It was also an incredibly naïve one.

Less than twenty-four hours later, God began to position the pieces together in answering it.

The next day, after completing a project for a client at the healthcare brokerage firm where I worked, I left the paperwork on my desk and headed to the grocery store during my lunch break to run an errand.

As I walked toward the entrance of the store, I suddenly found myself underneath the car of a woman backing out of a parking space. The rear tires stopped only inches from my chest.

To this day, I'm not entirely sure how I got out from beneath the vehicle. I simply remember several people rushing to help, which was followed by finding myself in the back of an ambulance on the way to a nearby hospital.

The examination revealed a torn rotator cuff in my left shoulder, and surgery was scheduled within days.

As we worked through the legal process over the following year, we eventually received an insurance settlement which was a direct answer to my prayer.

In September 2011, we received and applied those funds directly toward our debt, leaving only about $3,000 remaining to pay off.

By March of 2013, we were completely debt-free.

Looking back, I smile at the innocence of that late-night prayer.

Would I recommend praying, "Lord, I don't care how You do it"?

Probably not.

However, I have learned something far more valuable.

Our Father hears every sincere prayer. Sometimes His answers arrive in ways we would never choose, yet His purposes remain perfectly good.

Even when His methods surprise us, His heart toward His children never changes.

He is intimately involved in the messy details of our lives, weaving together circumstances we could never orchestrate ourselves.

Perhaps the greater prayer is not, "Lord, I don't care how You do it."

Perhaps it is, "Father, I trust You, no matter how You choose to answer."

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." (Proverbs 3:5–6 NLT)

Sometimes the prayers that seem the most dangerous become the very prayers through which we discover that our Father's wisdom is infinitely greater than our own.

Looking back, I would never have chosen the path He used, but I would never want to miss what He taught me along the way.

I would like to ask you a question.

Have you ever prayed what you consider a “dangerous prayer” and in what way has God answered it?

 Please accept this as my invitation for you to share as I would welcome the feedback.