Prayer to stop being afraid to ask God for help again
Written by Rachel Wojo
Bible reading:
“Elisha said, ‘Go around and ask all your neighbors for an empty jar, but not just a few.’ – 2 Kings 4:3
Listen or read below:
I drove a 2008 Honda Odyssey for 15 years.
Around 10 years ago, I started calling it Widow’s Oil. It was the van that carried infant carriers, infant seats, and kids who didn’t need a seat at all. It allowed us to see specialists, go on family vacations, and go to the grocery store on the toughest days. I brought my daughter Taylor, who has special needs, home from the hospital many times. The van continued to drive well past the point of errand, but I knew that I didn’t have to say it out loud to know that it was thanks to God that it was still in my driveway.
Three years ago, the Lord provided an “upgrade” to our 2015 Odyssey, which sounds crazy when you say it out loud. But I remember sitting at the dealership and being sad. Closing that chapter felt really final. Matt and I brought our last two babies home from the hospital in that van. Everything became personal on the final trip to bring Taylor home from the hospital after an illness. I wasn’t just trading vans. I was trading 15 years of God’s faithfulness for a new chapter yet to be seen.
But I haven’t always been so brave in naming God’s provision. Sometimes my prayers didn’t go as I expected, and the next time I prayed, I found myself getting smaller. hedge. I’d like just a little bit please. Because God probably didn’t want to give me too much. Sound familiar?
In 2 Kings 4, a widow with little left comes to Elisha in a panic. Creditors come for her sons. She has a little oil in her house, that’s all. When Elisha asked her what she had, he said something very important.
“Go around asking all your neighbors for empty bottles. Don’t just ask for a few.”
I love this word. “Don’t ask for just a little bit.”
The oil continued to flow as long as the bottle was filled. When the bottle ran out, the oil stopped flowing. Her provision was not limited by God’s provision. It was limited by what she wanted.
I wish someone had told me that 10 years ago, when my long-held prayers weren’t going the way I wanted them to. Have you ever prayed for just what you really need? Maybe you’re only praying for what you think is reasonable enough to get a “yes”. When you’re actually trying to protect your heart from being disappointed again, you tell yourself that’s what a mature Christian would do.
It took me a while to understand that if my prayers didn’t go as expected, it wasn’t a signal to ask less. That is not proof that God has been good to you. And it is not a character flaw to bring what is in your heart to God full size.
The God who kept my odyssey going for 15 years is the same God who multiplied oil in an empty bottle for a widow. He will not only meet your needs today, but fully meet them.
Would you like to pray with me?
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father,
I prayed a little. You know the prayer I’m talking about, the big prayer from a while ago that didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, and the way I’ve been hinting at it ever since.
I’m sorry that I decided what I could and couldn’t do based on one answer that I didn’t understand. Please forgive me for calling my fear “faith.” Please forgive me for bringing you a polite version of my prayer while you were waiting for the real one.
Lord, today I bring you an empty bottle. Hopes I’ve been tempering because they feel too big. Dreams and desires that are embarrassing to say out loud. Fill them as you wish. Just as I ultimately trust you with my questions, I also trust you with my results.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
If you’re in a season where answers feel far away, I wrote Desperate Prayer: Embracing the Power of Prayer in Life’s Darkest Moments for those seasons. For a more heartening story of a widowed woman’s oil from a Honda Odyssey, this book is for you.
Photo credit: SparrowStock
Rachel Wojo is an inspirational author, speaker, and podcaster known for her popular blog rachelwojo.com. Through her Biblical approach and personal life experience, Rachel empowers women to find strength and hope in everyday situations. Despite enduring the loss of her mother, her special needs adult daughter, and her father, Rachel remains resilient. She is the author of the uplifting book Desperate Prayers: Embracing the Power of Prayer in Life’s Darkest Moments and a beautiful new spiral-bound prayer journal, Praying for God’s Promises. Rachel is crazy about her husband, Matt, and cherishes motherhood with six children on earth and two in heaven.
Related resources: What to do when God seems far away
What do we do when God no longer feels as close as he used to?
Many sincere believers go through seasons when their prayers feel empty, their Bibles feel silent, and God feels mysteriously absent. Especially for leaders, these seasons can feel confusing, discouraging, and even embarrassing.
In this episode of the Unhurried Living podcast, Alan Fadling sits down with theologian and spiritual formation professor Kyle Strobel to discuss his new book, When God Seems Distant, co-written with John Coe. If this episode helps you focus your work and life on God, follow Unhurried Living on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode.
