Socks and Underwear

If you spend any time on the internet or watching TV,  you have most likely seen this amazing story about WestJet airlines in Canada.  Before boarding, the passengers were asked to scan their tickets and then tell the virtual Santa Claus want they wanted for Christmas.  Without second thought, the passengers then got on their plane and set off for their destination.  Little did they know that the WestJet employees were busy checking their requests, hustling off to buy the gifts, and rushing back to get them wrapped and ready for them by the time they landed in Canada.  When they arrived at the baggage claim, instead of suitcases coming down towards them, they saw neatly wrapped presents -- inside were the very items they had shared with Virtual Santa that they dreamed of getting for Christmas this year.  People received Kindles, iPhones, cameras, even a flat screen TV.  And then there was the guy who had jokingly said he wanted socks and underwear.  Guess what he got?  Yep, socks and underwear!!!  I bet he wished he had taken the virtual Santa a little more seriously as he held his socks and underwear and looked around at everyone else with new phones and TVs!

We can laugh at the poor guy, but maybe we should learn something from him too.

Before I share what God taught me through this heart-warming story, I want to add a little disclaimer:

I am NOT saying that God and Santa Claus are on the same level.  

I am NOT comparing God to Santa or vice versa.  

I am JUST passing on to you what God seemed to speak to me through this story.

How often do we miss out on receiving amazing blessings from God?

When we pray, do we really, truly believe God hears us, that He can and will answer us?

Do we pray big, unrealistic, humanly impossible prayers OR do we pray safe prayers?

Are we scared to ask God to do something because we fear He won't or can't?

If we pray "little" prayers then maybe we're more confident we'll get the answer we want.  BUT, if we pray for something that is huge, something we know only God can do, then we tend to be a little hesitant, doubting if God will do what we have asked.  At least, I know I feel that way all too often.

Right now, we are praying for a little 4-month-old baby girl named Nella.  She has been diagnosed with SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), for which there is no cure.  Basically, her muscles will stop working.  However, her brain will be fully functioning, so she will be fully aware of the pain her body is in.  Doctors have given her weeks to months to live.  Every night, we pray for God to touch her body and heal her, completely.  And yet, I don't expect Him to.  Not if I am totally honest with myself.  

You see, for many many many months we prayed for our dear friends' little boy Levi, who had a brain tumor.  We prayed God would heal him, but He didn't.  At least not this side of heaven.  Levi went home to be with Jesus earlier this year.  

Before that, we prayed faithfully, earnestly, daringly for another sweet family and their baby boy Samuel.  He had some complications at birth such that he was deprived of oxygen.  We prayed for God to heal him, to restore his brain, to let him live and tell the amazing story of divine intervention.  For reasons I don't understand, God chose to take Samuel home to heaven to be with Him.  

When I think of God-fearing, faith-filled, passionate lovers of Jesus, I immediately think of Levi's mom Alicia and Samuel's mom Grace.  They are the most amazing women I know, living boldly and wholeheartedly for Jesus in all they do, teaching their children to do the same.  If God would answer anyone's prayers, surely He would grant Alicia and Grace their pleas to heal their baby boys.  James tells us to pray in faith, without any doubt or hesitation about God's ability to answer us.  I know Alicia and Grace did just that, every single day, all day long for that matter. And yet, God didn't do what they so desperately wanted. 

You might think that these women would walk away from their faith, turning their back on God since He seemingly did the same to them.  Far from it, they have remained strong and steadfast, continuing to love Jesus and live for Him despite the pain they experience every single day.   

These moms and two little boys have forever changed me, and many others too who also prayed for Levi and Samuel.  I tell myself if Alicia and Grace can still believe in God, so can I.  Not only that, I can trust Him to hear my prayers and answer them.  Granted, He doesn't always give me the response I want, BUT He always listens to me.  And so, I keep praying.

This WestJet story, though, reminded me that I still need to pray BIG.  I have become lazy in my prayer life, just offering up quick prayers as I rush through my day.  "Please help So and So with their marriage."  "Be with So and So as they seek Your will."  "Help my girls grow up to know You and live for You."  So generic.  Nothing specific.  Nothing humanly impossible.  Nothing only God can do.  I'm kind of like the guy who asked for socks and underwear.  I forget that I serve a God who created the universe out of nothing.  He spoke the stars into existence.  He breathed the planets.  With one word, zebras and peacocks and bombadier beetles appeared.  At His command, the Red Sea separated and the Israelites walked safely across to the other side on dry land.  The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is still at work today - in ME!  If God can do all that, then He can certainly heal baby Nella.  So, why do I doubt Him?  I shouldn't.

I need to be more like the people who asked for cameras, iPhones, Kindles, and big screen TVs.  I need to remember to whom I am praying and pray BIG.

If I pray socks and underwear prayers, I'm going to get socks and underwear answers.

Only as I "dare" to pray BIG am I going to get GOD-SIZED answers.

Won't you join me and start praying for the impossible?  After all we are praying to One for whom NOTHING is impossible!!!  We just might be blown away with the answers to prayer we get!