Max Lucado wrote, “This my God is my prayer. Draw me from Your fire, form me on Your anvil, shape me with Your hands and let me be Your tool.”
Now that is a dangerous prayer. Dangerous prayers?! Can prayer be dangerous? Is prayer SUPPOSED to be dangerous?
Any encounter with a Holy God can be dangerous—not in a life-threatening way, but in a way that can be life-altering and soul-shaping.
All too often, we pray safe prayers: God, bless me. God, help me. God, protect me. God, heal me. God, provide for me.
Dangerous prayers are risky and life stretching. Dangerous prayers come out of a spirit of brokenness. Dangerous prayers are filled with boldness and daring faith.
My most dangerous prayers have come in moments of deep frustration and seasons of brokenness. I pray more dangerously when I need to experience God’s light in my soul, his power in my ministry, and his leading for the future.
Take Jacob, who wrestled with God out of incredible frustration and the paralyzing fear of meeting his brother Esau. He clung to God in prayer as a wrestler grappling with his opponent—and in the process, he was changed profoundly (Genesis 32:22-32).
Dangerous prayers we can pray:
- Mark our lives.
As Jacob was humbled physically, he was reminded that he was also changed spiritually (vv. 25, 31).
- Change our identities.
Jacob received a new name, which reminded him that his identity was in God and not in his birthright (vs. 28).
- Draw us closer to You, God.
Jacob came face to face with God. As God’s great mercy was revealed, Jacob experienced a more profound sense of intimacy (vs. 30).
- Impact the community of faith.
This event in Jacob’s life was memorialized. It was done to remind God’s people of this important principle: When the leaders’ lives are radically changed, it always impacts the people they are leading (vs. 32).
Our devotional book “21 Dangerous Prayers: A 21-Day Transformational Prayer Guide” explores the dangerous prayers that God’s people have prayed for thousands of years. We have broken down these dangerous prayers into three categories:
- Confessional Prayers – “Lord, Search Me.”
Confessional prayers allow God to breathe into your life. When you invite His holiness, righteousness, and glory to invade your being, God exposes your needs and any obstacles hindering your life and usefulness in His mission.
- Transformational Prayers – “Lord, Break Me.”
Transformational prayers allow God to shape and mold us. They seek God’s sanctifying power, strength, and grace as we work out the gospel in our lives through confession and repentance. They seek God’s leading by submitting to His Word and surrendering to His ways.
- Missional Prayers – “Lord, Send Me.”
Missional prayers align us with God’s purposes. They teach us to rest in God’s power and presence as we advance His mission and promote His Glory. They position us to be usable by God in any way possible.
With our 21 days of prayer, we created a three-day cycle of “Lord, Search Me” –> “Lord, Break Me” –> “Lord, Send Me.” During those 21 days, you will pray through this cycle seven times, creating a transformational rhythm that can make you into a dangerous disciple.
Max Lucado’s quote refers to God’s fire, anvil, and hands. He gives a vivid picture of a blacksmith taking something that is absolutely raw—and with great care and precision, making it into something beautifully usable.
The first step to being transformed by God’s purifying fire is to invite him to search us. To allow him into the depths of our souls and cleanse us with liberating forgiveness. The next step is to ask God to break us on His anvil. To surrender to his transformational sanctification that shapes, molds, and conforms our lives into the image of Jesus. The last step is for us to respond to God’s call with a willingness to be used as his chosen instrument in His redemptive mission.
This is our prayer for you: May God’s fire purify your soul. May God’s anvil shape and mold your life. And may you become a useful tool, ready to be used in the hands of the Almighty! Amen.
Want a sneak peak into this 21-day devotional? Read below for Day 1 of Dangerous Prayers:
Day 1 – Search me, O God!
Psalm 139:23 – Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
There is no room for morbid introspection in the life of a follower of Jesus. Why? Because when we search our own hearts we can easily fall into self-deception. Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” He continues, “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Only God is qualified to perfectly search our hearts. David’s prayer acknowledges God’s searching power, admits that we are so easily deceived, and humbly submits to God’s truth rather than our feelings or perceptions.
Find time today to be dangerous! Pray this dangerous prayer:
“Father, I desire to be the best in what I do today. So I ask You to investigate my life and examine my deepest motives. Cross-examine my thoughts and give me a clearer picture of myself according to Your truth. May Your glory be revealed in me and shine through me this day. Amen.”
*For more information on creating a Dangerous Prayer Campaign in your church go to https://convergemidamerica.org/21-dangerous-prayers/. For more information on ordering Dangerous Prayers for $1.00 go to https://www.yourjourneyresources.com/product-p/21dangerousprayers.htm. We have limited number of books available at this price. Please email yourjourneyresources@gmail.com any questions.
