What You Want This Fall, and Why It’s Probably Not Big Enough
What are you asking God for this fall?
If everything breaks the way you hope between now and Thanksgiving, what would be different?
Maybe your answer includes changes to your physical body. You’d like to run a mile without stopping, or lose 10 pounds, or establish a consistent pattern of sleeping.
Or perhaps you’d identify growth in specific relationships, say, a fruitful season of marriage counseling, the deepening of a friendship with a non-Christian, the resolution of a deeply painful conflict.
It’s quite likely the first place your mind goes is in the ministry you lead. You’ve spent the summer laying out plans for the fall—kickoff Sundays, children’s initiatives, missional engagement, leadership trainings, a fresh sermon series.
What if everything worked out the way you hope?
How would your church be different? How would your neighborhood be different?
How would you be different?
What do you want God to do for you this fall?
Whatever it is, your sights may be too small.
At least that’s what I took away from my time in Scripture this morning. I’ve been reading through Old Testament history and recently came upon the story of Elijah.
And what a story it is.
Causing a drought with his prayers. Multiplying food for a widow. Raising a boy from the dead. Calling down fire from heaven.
Generations of Israelites had lived and died without seeing anything of the sort. The last person to work miracles like Elijah was the great lawgiver himself, Moses. And he lived centuries before Elijah.
No one had ever seen anything like Elijah.
And that brings me to my reading this morning.
Along comes another prophet, Elisha, who simply won’t leave Elijah’s side. In spite of the prophet’s invitation to stay behind. In spite of the prophetic companies who tell Elisha that Elijah is being taken away.
Finally Elijah asks Elisha what he can do for him before he departs. And Elisha makes this stunning request:
“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.”
In other words, “I’ll have twice what you have.”
Those of us who know the story can easily overlook just how audacious this is.
How ridiculous it is.
We’ve seen nothing like Elijah in centuries, and Elisha wants twicewhat Elijah has?
Insanity.
Elijah himself responds, “You have asked a difficult thing.”
But … “it will be yours.”
Elisha famously goes on to perform twice as many miracles as Elijah.
A double portion, quite literally.
So I return to my opening question: what are you asking for this fall?
What if God doubled it?
Sometimes I am guilty of praying small prayers, asking for things that I think have a good possibility of coming about.
Maybe I don’t want to be disappointed if things turn out otherwise.
Maybe I don’t have faith.
Or maybe I don’t allow myself the freedom to daydream about what an omnipotent God could do, right here, right now.
Regardless of the reason, today I want Elisha’s ridiculous request to inspire me to pray big. Bigger than I was thinking before.
I hope his example does the same for you.