Can You Ask God for Too Much?

I heard a sermon many years ago where the preacher made the comment that if we as Christians were going to make an error in prayer – let it be that we asked God for too much? Before I precede any further, let me state I am not referring to praying that is motivated by greed, selfish ambition, or self glorification. I am talking about praying large prayers that further God’s Kingdom. Kingdom minded praying is the need of the hour.
When we are praying for Kingdom expansion can we pray for too much? Can we pray for too many souls to be saved when the scriptures tell us that His reason for not returning is because He does not wish any to perish? [II Pet 3:9] Can we pray for the gospel to be spread to too many countries when He told us to go and make disciples of all nations? [Matt 28:19-20] Is it possible for us to pray for glorification of God too much when Jesus told us that He would be glorified that we bear much fruit? [Jn 15:7-8] “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.”
I do believe that it is possible to ask God for too much for ourselves like the person who asks God to help them win the lottery even though they have no desire to honor God with the money. People selfishly pray for vehicles, houses, job success, and so forth with the wrong motives. So much of praying today is not motivated by the glory of God.
When it comes to praying for God to move, to work, to save, to heal, to revive, or to increase the harvest of souls can you ask for too much? O that we would expend our lives asking God for more and more expansion of His kingdom and for less and less for ourselves. When God’s glory is our chief desire, we can expect to see our prayerful desires answered. [Ps 37:4] “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” How I long to pray and desire things that move God’s heart and that He would love to give. I long to ask God for larger, more expansive, longer lasting, and far more impacting prayers than my own petty minute selfish wants.
Why do we want our children to be successful at sports? Is it so we can brag or so we can brag on the God at work in our children? God should get all the glory not the coaches, players, or parents. If our motivation is that God give our children a larger platform to testify of His greatness, can we ask God for too much? If God is glorified by my children playing in high school or college then God can help them succeed as long as we all remember that it is not about us but it is all about Him. [Jn 3:30]
Think about your prayer life? How many of our prayers can pass through the filter of what God really wants to happen or really wants to give? I am afraid many of our prayers fail the test and truthfully God would not get much glory from much of the prayers lifted up these days.
Recently I was driving with Darrell (our youth and worship minister) talking about how we long to see the power of God poured out in our lives, families, and our church. As I have pondered that conversation over the past few days I brought back to this dilemma. Does God want to pour out His power and His might in our lives? Or does God intentionally hold Himself and His power back so that His children live in perpetual frustration because they do not get to behold His miraculous intervention in the affairs of their lives? I believe that God absolutely wants to demonstrate His power. This is nothing we have to pry from Him. There are times when we have to pray with tenacity and wait on God’s perfect timing but He does come through.
We are a very impatient people and rather than asking and pleading with God for more power, more intervention in our world, or more of His glory to be on display for a lost world to behold, we start trusting in our education, our programs, our technology, and our experiences rather than in Him. For the most part, people are contented to live without God’s help as if they do not need Him. We do need Him. There comes a time in every life when find ourselves up against something we can’t move and fix on our own. In that season we dare not ask God for too little or for nothing at all. We have not because we ask not for ask with wrong motives. [James 4:2-3]
I for one desperately need Him. I cannot write, preach, lead, or shepherd without His help. I cannot be the right kind of husband, parent, or friend without Him. I cannot sway the masses to trust Him and submit to His leadership without God first softening and transforming hearts. I cannot carry the heavy loads of my troubles and cares much less the burdens others have.
Though I have been eyewitness to many powerful outpourings of God’s Spirit over people and marvelous divine interventions of protection, healing, and provision I am not content. I long to pray for greater things and ask God for more and more kingdom impact. I want to see spiritual awakening where the masses to turn to Jesus in repentance and salvation in great numbers. I want to see church attendance increase not only in our church but all over this community, county, and country. I want to see people live without the bondage of being in debt so more money would be freed up to meet benevolent needs, given to missions, and invested in storing treasures in heaven rather than on earth where rust and moths will destroy. [Matt 19:21] I want to ask God for more burdens to be lifted off weary shoulders, for more despair to be hauled off despondent souls, and for more people to fall madly in love with Jesus. I want to trust God for people to have greater faith resulting in larger and larger prayers being offered and answered. I want to pray for fewer and fewer Christian leaders to fall into gross morale sin shaming themselves and the Savior. I want to believe for cold hearted Christians to be revived and to find the joy of their salvation again as live with holy flames in their hearts.
If I make a mistake in prayer I want it to be that I believed, I trusted, I asked, and I expected too much from God. Away with small hearts accompanied with small faith. I want large faith to pray large prayers. I want to ask God for such grandiose things as would bring Him wave after wave of glory. This is not a time for timid praying or tiny faith. These are days when God stands poised ready to step into time and space and forever change lives and the destiny of people, churches, and nations. May it never be that we cowardly approach God and doubt Him. Lord, help my unbelief and place in me an unshakable confidence in You and Your desire to come to our rescue. Please help me to believe you for more and more and never be ashamed for asking and trusting you for too much.