The Big Ask

Have you ever found yourself entangled in a moment where you felt like you had the choice to either ask for the impossible or shrink away into despair? Our minds race when we stand at that crossroads. What if I ask God for this “big” thing and He does nothing? What if I begin to live like my request will be granted, but it turns out null and void? How will I ever recover from such a failure? How will others view God when it seems He fails to deliver? Is making the “big ask” even worth it?

Nehemiah found himself in that exact moment. He was sad of heart. God had broken him over the state in which Israel found itself; walls crumbling. He had fasted. Prayed. Confessed.

And then came the question . . . “What are you requesting?” the king asked.

Something happened in the milliseconds between the king’s question and Nehemiah’s response. It was the difference-maker, found in this little statement:  “So I prayed to the God of heaven.”  Nehemiah turned his heart heavenward, and as a result, he didn’t go it alone in making the “big ask.”  It wasn’t wishful thinking or positive posturing. Nehemiah’s request was born in heaven. The favor of the king followed. The good hand of God was upon him. The walls of Jerusalem would be rebuilt.

So the real question is: How do we know when the “big ask” is truly something we are supposed to make? When do we know it was heaven-initiated, enough that we can rest assured that God’s favor will follow?

We don’t. And it hurts. It crushes us. We want it to be right. We want it to be true. But faith demands that the outcome remain unknown.

Maybe that’s the point.

No “ask” is truly “big” unless it involves a heart full of faith peering into heaven with hope.