The Most Dangerous Prayer
It’s birthed in the deepest recesses of our hearts, then moves with our silent yearnings to the hidden places in our thoughts. We dare to think it, until we finally submit and give words to this most dangerous prayer.
“Lord, do whatever it takes to bring my husband/wife to Christ.”
Among the unequally yoked there is an unspoken enormity to this prayer. And we understand the journey it takes deep within ourselves to finally speak it—to pray it with sincerity, knowing full well we have no idea what we may have unleashed. It comes from a place of near desperation and complete trust in God.
We are willing to risk it all.
At times the urgency of this prayer fills me with such desperation that I can hardly breath. And when I am overcome by it, God tells me this is just the minutest fraction of what he feels for my husband.
Can you imagine?
Can you imagine a love that wild and all consuming? Then I realized that God feels that way about us and pursued us then just as He is pursuing our loved ones now. (Talk about really leaving a girl breathless!)
That kind of love never fails. It’s always there, protecting and watching. He’s got our backs. (Isaiah 58:8). We just have to trust him and let go of our expectations, preconceived ideas, and fears. He will equip us to handle whatever comes. (I’m listening to those words as much as you are.)
Amazingly, I’m the one who’s been changed the most by this prayer. At first what I thought to be terribly unfair now appears to be part of a grand plan. A time of preparation. With each pruning, I find myself more and more grateful, and humbled. (There’s hope for me yet.)
Perhaps it makes a difference knowing the outcome—God gave me a glimpse of what’s to come several years ago. Or perhaps it has more to do with how He has strengthened my trust and reliance on him. He’s shown me my fallen-ness. I have no choice.
What are you willing to risk for your unbelieving spouse to know Jesus? What are you willing to pray for that loved one? Are you willing to walk into the unknown realm of God’s will, and trust him completely with the outcome, no matter how you’re affected in the process? It’s a scary question, I know!
When I worry what this prayer will cost me, I remind myself that God will equip me for whatever comes. That’s been the whole point of this time of preparation. And then I remember that He made the greatest sacrifice. He already paid the highest cost of all with his Son. And nothing I could lose can compare to that.
Praying and believing,
Dineen
