The Big Ask

I’ve been working on plans for our upcoming Fall Retreat for months now. I have a facility, I have a speaker, I have counselors, I have games and prizes, but what I didn’t have was a worship team. Up until last Sunday, I had no one, person or band, to lead worship at our fall retreat.

Everything inside of me has been wanting to freak out. How can you have a fall retreat without worship?! That’s unheard of! But I knew that God was in control and freaking out about it would change nothing. So I gave it up to Him to worry about it.

What I did in the meantime, was track down people to ask. This is how the last 3 months has looked like for me:

• I would ask someone.
• 2-3 weeks would go by without any response.
• I would finally hear from them.
• Answer would be, “No, can’t do it.”
• I would start the cycle all over again by asking someone else.

Then something happened. Last Friday, I was spending some time with God and we had this conversation:

God:     “You know Morgan, you haven’t asked me to provide someone to lead worship.”
Me:       “What are you talking about God?! I’ve been asking you for the past 3 months.”
God:     “Sure, you’ve been leaning on me and trusting me because you know that I know, but you haven’t asked me yet.”

Me:       “Are you kidding me God?! You need me to ask you?!”
God:     “Yep.”
Me:      “But you’re God! You know exactly what I need and how I need it. Why do you need me to say it?”

God:     “It’s not that I need you to say it…you need you to say it!”
Me:      “…” (not very impressed with God at this moment)
God:     “Look, the fact that it is so hard for you to say 8 simple words is exactly why you need you to say it. Until you say it, fear and pride will stand between you and me. You haven’t really put your trust in me yet because you haven’t really asked me yet. If for some reason I don’t come through for you, no worries…you never really asked me in the first place. Who can blame you?! But if you ask me, if you put yourself out there…there’s a risk. But here’s the crazy part…I love you! I want to be there for you! I want to answer your prayers! I just need you to trust me…I mean really trust me.”

Me: “…” (not very impressed with God at this moment…because I know He’s right)
God: “So…are you going to ask me?
Me: “…God, will you provide someone to lead worship?”

What happens next is the cool part (as if having a conversation with God isn’t cool enough!). Later on that evening, I got an email back from the last person I tried asking. He explained that not only would he be able to come for the weekend, but he would also be bringing his band. How cool is that?!

I’ve often wondered why God needs us to pray and ask Him for help. I mean, He’s God and He knows everything. What God is showing me is that we are the ones who benefit from by doing the asking. It’s a way for God to strengthen our faith and take away our pride. So what is God waiting for you to ask Him? Don’t be like me and let your fear and pride get in the way of saying a few simple words. Put yourself out there and see how amazing God truly is!

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~ by macp14 on September 8, 2009.