Judges 6:11–24, Psalm 27:7–14, Isaiah 6:8–10 (read online ⧉)
Gideon had a prayer. Likely many of the Israelites had the same prayer, “Save us!” It was certainly a worthwhile prayer. We could say that Gideon was chosen. He was. We look backward to Scriptures and we say, “Of course, Gideon was chosen.” Gideon certainly did not feel that way.
In fact, his response was, “It couldn’t be me!” Gideon was either confirming (testing) that this really was from God, or Gideon was testing so that God would choose someone else. With God’s direction, Gideon was the answer to his own prayer. He had to face a well-trained and numerically superior force. That is the risk in prayer; having to be the answer to it.
The “trick”, of course, is thinking that we must do it all on our own, without God. As Gideon lived it out, it was answering his own prayer by working with and on the behalf of God that things came to fruition.
Isaiah, too, was an answer to prayer. The prayer, ultimately, was about the descendants of Israel needing a prophetic voice to call them back to relationship with God. In his own vision, God asked (not of him) who would go. Isaiah volunteers. It just popped out. Whoops! Isaiah became the prophetic voice and suffered greatly because of it.
The psalmist talks about his struggles, and how he wants to see God‘s face. He seeks God’s aid and sustenance. It is in verse 11, that we really see what each of us should be asking in our prayers, especially our audacious ones…
“…show me your way, LORD,
and lead me on a level path…”
…follow the way of the Lord. Neither Gideon’s or Isaiah’s path (of the Lord that they followed) was level on the surface. Spiritually it was. Our lives of pain, failure, success, and even mediocrity, will not be “level.” When one fully rests, trusts, and follows God, the spiritual path will be level.
1) When was the last time you made an audacious prayer request? What did you think of the answer?
2) What is your limit to what God asks you to do? [and be honest…God already knows the answer.]
3) What are thoughts about be the answer to your own prayers (at least some of them)?
Action: Ask for God’s guidance for the path you are to walk.