Pray Big 2015
Photo Credit: Amanda Carden, via Shutterstock
Every morning, I wake up and lift my heart to God in prayer.
I praise Him for His glory and goodness.
I surrender my agenda and expectations to His greater kingdom purposes.
I yield my desires to do His will.
And, then I ask for Him to move a mountain.
I cry out to Him for that mountain to crumble.
I believe that God is bigger than any obstacle or stronghold.
Yet, my mountain remains — immovable and unyielding.
Do you have a mountain? I bet you do.
Like me, you may be discouraged by the darkness that looms large in your view.
You aren’t alone.
If we sat down today in my kitchen and shared our stories, I bet we would see similarities.
That’s exactly what happened to my husband and I just a few weeks ago. Our friend Mikey and his bride Sherree invited themselves over and stepped into our valley. They sat down and listened to the nitty-gritty, and they didn’t try to fix us. They didn’t pretend that they had it all together, either. They shared their own messy mountain tale, and then we decided to invite someone else into the conversation.
Four hearts bowed together in front of an altar aflame.
Together, we asked God to move two mountains.
With worshipful hearts, we cried out to Him for those mountains to crumble.
We prayed big.
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In the Old Testament when David faced defeat and discouragement, he continually lifted up empty hands to heaven and cried out for mercy.
Why do we think that we can’t do the same? God delights when we confess our need for Him. He sees your trembling heart full of love that is holding fast to His promises.
He sees you.
Your prayers are a sweet aroma of sacrifice that rises straight to the heart of the King of Kings.
One glorious day, He will thunder down and crumble your mountain.
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May my prayer be set before You like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.Psalms 141:2
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This year, I am going to be a bit rebellious again and choose a two-word theme. My desire is to lift up holy hands and “Pray Big.” Want to join me? I’ve created a private “Pray Big” Facebook group for us to share our stories and surrender them to our mountain-moving God in prayer. Let’s cry out to God together.
p.s. — Ladies only allowed in the Facebook group please — sorry fellas!
I love the heart of this post and your rebellious spirit, Lyli! I love the idea of praying big. I’m not sure what holds me back from doing that at times. It’s almost as if I think I don’t deserve for God to answer my prayers in a big way. I’m not sure what it is, but I love your theme for this year and I’m heading over to join your FB group now. Thanks so much!
My word for the year is wisdom because I want to walk in His wisdom for my life rather than my own. So here’s to a new year filled with big, wise prayers!
Love your word, Heather! I am a big fan of Proverbs, and I read through part of Chapter 1 today where it talk about the “fear of the Lord” being the beginning of wisdom. I prayed for God to show me how to really reverence Him with an undivided heart in a way that pleases Him.
I love this! I’m joining!
Yay! That’s awesome since your December post helped confirm that this was the direction I needed to go for 2015.
Sometimes we forget how important prayer is. I love this post reminding us to pray and pray BIG! Thank you for the encouragement. Linked up before you at The Weekend Brew.
Lovely to meet you through Barbie’s awesome linkup, Naomi.
Great post… God can do anything… we don’t manipulate Him in prayer, we submit to Him and glorify Him…. and what a privilege to go to Him in prayer. 🙂
Living more of a praying life is something that has so been on my heart lately. Loved this, Lyli.
Lyli, I am so in! My word last year was “Faith” & this year it is “Believe” so God already had me on track for this 🙂 Can I just say….I so want to hug you! Blessings, friend!
I do believe in praying big and speaking to your mountain. I suppose we all have a mountain, either for our self, or a close family member. Keep speaking to it and believe it will be removed. Thanks for visiting my recent post “Thieves in Waiting” and your lovely comment.
Lyli, YES, count me in! I love your word/them for the year “pray big”. I need to learn to surrender my cares to the Lord and pray big! Heading over the the FB group now!
Woo hoo!
Prayer has a way of definitely changing things!!! Blessings in the upcoming year!
Happy New Year Blessings to you as well! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
hi lyli, i wrote on something similar, just not as detailed today. great idea. i have a group i pray with at church but if i didn’t, i would get in yours. i get overloaded sometimes when i add too much online to church and family prayers. mybe overwhemed? anyway. that’s just how it works.
Martha,
I love that you have a community that is covering you in prayer at your church. I don’t currently have that, but have in the past, and it is like a warm coat that keeps you safe in the cold.
Hugs,
L
What a great idea. I think of these one word choices as themes so two words is perfect…if that’s what he gives. I’ll pray big with you Lyli. Joining the group now.
Lisha, would love for you to join. I didn’t see your request though…
Oh, Amen, Lyli. How many times do I not receive because I do not ask with the right heart? I’m praying big with you in 2015. I have some mountains that need moving!
“Pray Big”! That’s awesome…my word is actually “expectancy” but when I think about that word, I always put “joyful” in front of it. So, I sort of have a two-word phrase for this year, too! 🙂 But, as far as praying big…that is so important. I’m tired of keeping God in my little manageable box – the one where I don’t ask too much or hope too much because I’m afraid He won’t come through. Hmmm. Where’s my faith? Our God is a HUGE God! He can do ANYTHING! So, I’m praying big too…and as I look to 2015 with joyful expectancy, I am expecting God to do GREAT things!
Blessings, Joan
“Bold and expectant” is my “tag line” for “Pray Big,” so I think our themes go together like peanut butter and jelly!
Pray big. LOVE that, Lyli! It’s something we all can improve in. Sometimes I pray too small, like I’m leaving God wiggle room to not do much. But he can handle our requests to move mountains. Thanks for this inspiration to pray bigger!
so glad I popped by from SDGsisterhood . What a great post. My post was on prayer tonight also. I was reminded of the beautiful powerful gift prayer is. I love how you wrote and shared the joy of prayer. and not just prayer but that we get to pray BIG. I am praying BIg wth you!
Oh I love this post for so many different reasons. The couple who “stepped into your valley and didn’t try to fix ya’ll” — love that and God bless them and may we all be willing to step in valleys with our neighbors and friends. And oh yes, I want to dare to pray big again too. So glad I came by from SDGS
Hi Lyli, I’m your neighbor at Coffee for Your Heart. I just have to say I love your heart in this post. I focused last year on prayer and found a real difference in every aspect of my life! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing just a small glimpse of your valley and your new journey with insight from this mentoring couple (and what a great idea too…right?!). I love your courage! How would life be different if we approached prayer like this every moment?
Pray big, YES! God is listening to our hearts and knows anyway. When we empty our hearts to Him and are honest, He can work. Thank you for sharing your heart. Linking up with Holley and Jennifer. Have a beautiful day! Tammy
You radiate his glory, Lyli! I love reading your encouragement and am grateful you linked up for #ThreeWordWednesday.
What a wonderful word for 2015. I’m joining the group. I love when the Lord allows us to stand together in prayer. Blessings for the journey!
I’m praying big this year also. Thanks for the confirmation that this is God’s desire!
Lyli – Amen to your post! I have been praying ‘mountain prayers’ for a year for myself and my dearest ones. I do believe God moves mountains, so I have been claiming mountain scriptures (big ones) that address big spiritual needs that can bring God in to transform hearts of me and mine. Thanks for the wonderful post and scriptures! sandraj
Hi, Lyli. I love prayer so I love this post. As an avid prayer journaler, I also love your prayer journaling pages. Thanks for sharing! I am also your neighbor in your linkup.
Lyli–I love that you are praying BIG. I have been a faithful mess for a long time–which means I have been faithfully praying for mountains to move and crumble all over the place for quite some time. I am so fully aware of His awesome power, but it still takes my breath away when I see or hear of those mountains coming down.
I love that you are inviting women to join you!
Blessings,
Lyli! I am SO IN ON THIS!
Oh! Your opening lines here I need to copy and paste into my scrapping journal for this year! My heart leaped as I read the words – as a prayer! God gives us mountains so we can prove Him as the Mountain Mover. I have two words this year, too – a noun with an adjective. Not just, “walk in this thing” but “walk in this thing THIS way!”
Praying BIG with you, milady – God be with you as you sort through your rocks and boulders and find His way . . .
Yeah . . . you’ll like my words . . .
Joy!
Kathy
Thunder down and crumble the mountain.
Yes, Lord, please!
I love your spirit.
My word is faith.
I want to have faith to `Pray Big`
visiting from Spiritual Sundays!
LOVE this! Visiting from Recommendation Sat. today and so glad to be here! I haven’t picked “a word,” but if I did, it would resonate with yours! I so agree… we need to pray as David did, and that God wants to encourage us to pray big, believe big, trust him in big ways according to His promises. Blessings to you today and in all your prayers and mountain moving in His Name and Blood covering!