“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Has the LORD’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.’” Numbers 11:23

To Pray the Impossible Prayer

I have a few impossible prayers. The answers to these prayers seem so far off, so unlikely to come to pass, that I sometimes wonder if it is God’s will that these things will ever happen.

I pray for the salvation of loved ones who walk on a path so destructive, that it seems they will never want God in their lives.

I pray for the mentally ill who live a life in some other awareness than the rest of us, and I ask the Lord, “Do they have the ability to know You?”

I pray for those who are so ill, so disabled, so near the end of their lives, that it seems there is not enough time for them to come to Christ.

I pray for the people living in literal dirt—in such poverty that it is all they can do each day to seek their daily bread in a vermin-infested dump.

I pray for prisoners behind bars, surrounded by lawbreakers, by angry souls without hope of anything ever changing, who must fight every day just to stay alive.

And I pray for those courageous Christians who are being tortured and persecuted for their faith, and for their tormentors to have a drastic change of heart.

But God…

Nevertheless, God…

God’s arm has not been shortened. His power has not run out. His strength has not been weakened. His wisdom has not fizzled out. His connections have not short-circuited. His ways have not been exhausted. Nothing about God is reduced to man-sized abilities. He doesn’t wonder what to do about these situations. He isn’t tired of working. He hasn’t walked away in disgust. He hasn’t run out of ideas.

It’s only my own short view of what’s happening that calls these prayers impossible. “With men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).

When my prayers are weak, faithless, tiresome, and impossible, I need to remember I’m not the only one praying. No, I don’t mean that you are praying also (although you might be), but that Jesus is praying. He is the strong and faithful Advocate for all these who desperately need the work of God in their lives. “He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

The prayers of Jesus must be some powerful words of intercession! Tireless, ceaseless, ever before the Father, He lives to make intercession for them.

Pray those impossible prayers, and watch what God planned to do all along!

Jesus, we mingle our impossible prayers with Your nothing-is-impossible prayers. Fill us with big faith in You as we await Your works. In the solid, immovable name of Christ we pray. Amen.