DIANE SINGER —

“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)

Cold War Memories

In 1995, I made the first of several short-term mission trips to Belarus. That year, my translator was a woman named Luda, who had become a Christian as a child thanks to her grandmother. Since Luda’s parents were atheists (in keeping with their standing in the Communist Party), she could not share her faith with them.

It was something she could only share with her grandmother as they talked about Jesus and as they prayed together in secret. Therefore, though she was in her forties, Luda had never been to church and had never owned a Bible. Understandably, she was very nervous about acting as my translator. She feared that she didn’t know enough “Bible words” — either in Russian or English — to be able to translate my lessons accurately. However, with a little coaxing and practice, she not only became a skilled translator, she became a friend.

It’s a moment I’ll never forget: one of those Holy Spirit-arranged epiphanies which give us goosebumps and instantly brings tears to our eyes.

Since Luda and I were close in age, we were able to share our memories of growing up as children of the Cold War. We both remembered being part of “nuclear bomb drills” at school: the sirens would sound, and we would crouch under our desks and cover our heads with our arms (actions which I now know were ludicrously inadequate to protect us). We remembered seeing films of the May Day parades through Red Square where the Russians would display their massive weapons of war in a show of force designed to intimidate not only free people living in the West, but those living behind the Iron Curtain who longed to be free (like many Belarussians). Mostly, we remembered being taught in school that we should fear and loathe one another. To them, we were the “imperialist Americans.” To us, they were the “godless Communists.”

Parallel Prayers

However, there is more to our parallel histories than the Cold War propaganda we were exposed to as children. We had also been taught by godly adults to pray for one another. As a child, I had asked God to open doors into those un-free lands so people could hear the good news and come to know Jesus. (Colossians 4:3) I had given my pennies to support missionaries who smuggled in Bibles, I had prayed for the safety of Christians living behind the Iron Curtain, and I had asked God to keep them strong. Then, when I was older — and especially after the breakup of the Soviet Union — I began to ask the Lord to “send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

On her side of the world, Luda reported that she and her grandmother had often prayed for American Christians to one day come to Belarus to teach their people about Jesus. Then, she looked at me and said, “And here you are.”

It’s a moment I’ll never forget: one of those Holy Spirit-arranged epiphanies which give us goosebumps and instantly brings tears to our eyes. It is one of those slivers in time when we realize that God has invited us — as small and inadequate as we are — to be part of something larger and more significant than we ever could have imagined. Hearing her words that day, I suddenly understood that in sending me to Belarus, God had not only answered my prayers, He had used me to answer Luda’s. It was a thought both thrilling and sobering — and the emotions it unleashed in both of us are impossible to describe.

Far-ranging Prayers

So what did I learn about God and prayer on that day? I learned at least these two truths:

• God answers prayers, even prayers we may have uttered decades ago (or ones we have been praying for decades). Therefore, we should not become impatient or lose faith because He makes us wait. We just need to keep praying and keep expecting Him to answer. For when He does, we will be overwhelmed by His goodness and grace, and we will discover that those moments — which will reverberate throughout eternity — are absolutely worth waiting for.
• All Christians need to be uttering far-ranging prayers concerning people we may or may not meet this side of eternity. By the time Luda and I met, her grandmother had been with Jesus for many years. She did not live to see American Christians come to Belarus. But that matters little in God’s grand plan for His creation. To stretch and grow our faith, and to be part of God’s Kingdom work which will continue long after we’re gone, we need God-sized prayers requiring God-sized answers. (One of mine is a prayer I uttered while standing in a mosque in West Africa: I asked the Lord to one day turn it into a church. I’m still waiting – and praying – for that to come to pass.)

J.B. Phillips famously observed that our prayers are too small because our concept of God is too small. And despite the fact that Jesus said He would answer every prayer uttered in His name (in other words, in line with His character and will), I’m sure many of us would confess that we have yet to appreciate or appropriate the scope of that promise. Why don’t we start today? What God-sized requests do you have for Him?

Adapted from: God-Sized Prayers by Diane Singer, Colsoncenter.org, October 19 2015 — Reprinted with permission.