Putting In the Work for a Thirty-Thousand-Foot Request

(Intro)The Work You Must Put In

My Thirty-Thousand-Foot Prayer At Work

You might not know this but there is work you must put into seeing your own thirty-thousand-foot prayer answered. You don’t get to just drop it off and abandon your request. You’d be surprised at what God will ask you to do when you’re asking Him to do something, especially the big requests. Are you sure you want to ask God for something “big”? If you are, be ready for something “big” in return. Find out what all is involved once you do. Stay tuned.

No generic prayers beyond this point, be specific.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” – bible.com/bible/116/MRK.10.51.NLT 

There was a blind man by the name of Bartimaeus who cried out to Jesus. He’d decided to no longer sit there the same old way he had in the past. He decided to do something that wasn’t normal. He cried out with a loud voice.

There’s no doubt that Jesus and those with him knew that Bartimeaeus was blind. Jesus asked this blind man, “What do you want me to do for you?” What a question? Would you have gotten smart with Jesus and said what do you mean? Can’t you see I’m blind? How would you have responded? 

This blind man realized that he had Jesus’ attention and Jesus had just asked him for his request (prayer request). Notice what the blind man didn’t say. He didn’t say Lord bless me. He didn’t even say Lord heal me. He could have said Lord can’t you see I’m blind. But he didn’t. Rather the blind man was specific. “I want to see!” When you have God’s attention, there’s no time to beat around the bush.

In the same way, when we come to Jesus I believe we must be specific. Over the next few weeks we will pick back up with the history of Nehemiah as the work that went along with his thirty-thousand-foot prayer was on the way. We will see Nehemiah address some specific needs while doing the work that goes along with his prayer. Here are three of the major specific activities that happened while the work got on the way.

You can and should celebrate the small victories of your prayer.
Nehemiah celebrates the small victories. As the work began, Nehemiah and those helping him dedicated their work. They took the time to thank God for the fruit of their labor. They stopped for a moment to give God thanks for moving them closer to seeing their prayer answered. Have you ever wanted something so badly that it seemed impossible for it to come pass? And when it did, all you could say was thank you Jesus? This is what we as an uncommon person must practice when we see the first signs of positive results.

“The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.” – Jesus

You see what you do in life is no different than that of a farmer. Everything you have and everything you desire to have is produced by the seeds you’ve scattered. These seeds are at work while you’re awake and while you’re asleep.

Some have scattered seeds that have taken their life on a path they never planned on going.
Some have scattered seeds of pain and separation in their families.
Some have scattered seeds of neglect, defeat, and setback as it relates to their education, career, and business.
Some have scattered seeds of discord, rebellion, and jealousy when it comes to their relationships.
Some have scattered seeds of ruin and destruction when it comes to their community and society at large.

The point is you’ve sown like a farmer and have harvested from the crops you’ve planted. If you desire a better crop, you’ll need to sow better specific seeds. But before you can harvest, you get to see the blades sprout up; this is the time to celebrate.

Execution requires order.
Your work will require you to be organized. Did you know that the uncommon have lives of order and discipline? This means they’re organized. The same goes with your thirty-thousand-foot prayer request. This prayer takes a lot of work. Prayer isn’t a microwave process; it takes some great effort. I get it you want to just drop it off to Jesus and let Him handle it, but He wants you to do the work. He wants to see your request answered, but more importantly he wants to see what it will make of you.

Any time you hear from God, there’s going to be a lot of work for you to do.
I can’t say this enough. When a person talks to God they must be prepared for more than what they anticipate. God type thinking isn’t small. He can’t think on your level. He can’t think small. So when He speaks to you what He’s asking of you is always big. It’s so big that it can’t be done without His involvement, but it won’t be done until He has yours.

In this introduction, I want to simply wet your appetite for what’s coming in this next series. Keep in mind that this type of prayer and the work that goes along with it, isn’t an ordinary act. There are no ordinary people beyond this point. Once Nehemiah began his work, “ordinary” had to be left behind. Now it’s your turn to leave the old, ordinary you behind so that a new, extra-ordinary you will emerge.

Question: Do you have any idea of the work that you must put in for your thirty-thousand-foot prayer request?

Thank you for visiting NoLongerCommon.com. Until next Sunday, share this opening installment with a few of your friends.

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