God calls to Abraham both before and after the test of tests involving his son Isaac. Each time, Abraham replies, “Here I am.”

God calls to Jacob in a dream to transfer Abraham’s blessing onto him. Jacob replies, “Here I am.”

God calls to Moses from a burning bush to tell him to lead a nation out of slavery. Moses replies, “Here I am.”

God calls to Samuel as a young boy to deliver the first of many prophetic messages. Samuel replies, “Here I am.”

God calls to Isaiah seeking a messenger to stand in the gap of a wayward nation. Isaiah replies, “Here I am.”

I don’t know about you, but I want to lead a significant and consequential life. I want to dare mighty things. It keeps me up at night and drives me on in the daytime. Normal isn’t good enough. Easy isn’t adventurous enough. Good isn’t satisfying enough. There’s only one scale that’s big enough to live on – and that’s God’s. All others pale in comparison.

The only problem is, I can’t write my own script.

In almost every story in the Bible, it was God who instigated, orchestrated and demonstrated His power and faithfulness in incredible ways. So how do we “coax” God to let us in on the action?

I’ve come to learn we can’t preempt a calling, a word or a miracle from God because at the end of the day, it’s “thy will” not “my will” be done. But we can be available. And there are some really good reasons to be. Turns out, I’m not the only one saying, “Here I am.”

In Isaiah 65, God laments through Isaiah the prophet, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call my name.”

Maybe I’m waiting on God when He’s actually waiting on me.

Let’s pause on that. We want God to get us to the next big thing. I know I do. I can’t stand the status quo. I want more. I want it all. But God says, “Here I am, want ME!”

In a world where instant gratification is a realistic expectation, turns out fast is slow and slow is fast. We spin our wheels trying to get to the next destination, physically and spiritually, before we realize that we’re back where we started. And all along God has been saying, “Here I am.” What’s our response?

I still want more. That probably won’t change. But I realize I don’t need to wait. I’m not always sure what God is saying to me or when the next move will come. But that doesn’t stop me from being part of the spiritual conversation. Like the “places” marker on social media, I want my profile to stand out when God looks my way. Here I am.

Here I am means I surrender.

Here I am means I’m available.

Here I am means I’m all in.

Here I am means that regardless of circumstances, I want a relationship with God.

And like icing on the cake, when Jesus shows up, it really gets personal. Check out Revelations 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…”

God is calling my name. Am I calling His?

In an audience of several hundred, I’m sure “that person” could be almost anyone.

It reminded me of a day earlier that week when I had come home from a long day at work with no agenda for the evening. I recently moved to the coast in Florida so I made a quick run to the beach before coming home for dinner. With more time to kill, I started thinking of more options.

“I could really go for a beer,” I thought. “I know, I’ll have a beer on the back porch. With Jesus. You know, quasi-prayer, shoot the breeze style beer with Jesus. That’s normal, right?”

It was awkward. And kind of pathetic. And it didn’t last very long.

I read a story once of a lonely single girl who finally decided to date Jesus. She got dressed up and went to a fancy restaurant by herself. I can’t remember how it went. I don’t think I finished the story.

Can I just state the obvious?

Having a beer with Jesus is not the same as having a beer with a buddy.

Going on a date with Jesus isn’t the same as going on a date with a significant other.

You can’t have sex with Jesus. (wow, that really sounded weird).

You can’t cuddle Jesus the way you cuddle a newborn.

You can’t teach Jesus to throw a baseball the way you would teach a son.

It’s a bit of a head-scratcher hearing the stories of people who “find” God in the richness of their human relationships. A loner with a checkered past discovers God accepts him the way he is when he visits a church that invites him back. A new parent realizes for the first time what it means to be loved as a child of God now that they experience that love themselves.

So… where does that leave everyone else?

One of the real challenges I keep finding with faith is trying to integrate it into regular, everyday life. It’s supposed to fit, but sometimes it just seems like trying to cram a square peg into a round hole. Then what?

I know the “right” answer is that we were all created to be community for each other (at least I’ve heard that a hundred times). The better answer is probably to wait on God to provide for our needs (relational and otherwise). And the best answer might be to pursue the richness of a relationship with God that transcends circumstances. Maybe the perfect answer is that God is always enough.

But what if we gave up on needing to have an answer at all?

What if we just let things be what they are?

There’s always a space between a need and God’s provision, between a test and a testimony. We wouldn’t be honest Christians if we only told the stories of how God showed up – after the fact. “I got engaged – God is so faithful!” or “We finally got pregnant – God is so faithful!” I’d venture to say that most of us “everyday Christians” spend the majority of our lives in some kind of a gap. I know that because I’ve been there often and many of my friends are there as well. The girl whose husband never returned from the war. The couples who can’t stop miscarrying. The families who move cross-country where every face is a new one. My divorced friends. And on and on. Can someone please profile these stories from the pulpit? Can we at least acknowledge them? “Life really isn’t adding up to what I thought it would be and I sure hope there’s something more out there for me.”

It takes faith to live by faith, but I experience life moment by moment – the good ones and the bad ones alike.

It’s hard to have a beer with Jesus, but…

Don’t answer that. Don’t resolve it. Just let it be what it is for now. At least it’s honest.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer, and thought leader. To learn more about his services, visit NathanMagnuson.com/consulting or follow him on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Devotions by Chris.

I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you
Which shall be the darkness of God.…
I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.

-T. S. Eliot, “East Coker”

I read these words in Philip Yancey’s book Disappointment with God. I was going through a brutal spell in my life. If you’ve read the book, maybe it helped. But it didn’t help me. In fact it just made me feel worse for all the people referenced in the book as well as for myself.

Why do bad things happen to generally decent people? I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’ll ever understand this side of heaven. It might be better if I stopped asking. But there are few things that haven’t escaped me. Maybe they were rungs on the ladder that kept me hitting rock bottom.

Here they are:

I’m not in control. Even if I was, I don’t know what’s best for me.

It’s true – and actually this struck me when things were going well. What do you do when the things that happened by “chance” turned out better than your carefully laid plans? This had been the case a couple different times and while I was overwhelmed with gratitude, it eerily bothered me. When my tides turned, I realized that it goes both ways. In the end, I’m not God. I don’t know what’s best for me, I can’t see the big picture of God’s plan for me and I can’t control all the outcomes in my life. Living by faith means accepting both the good and the bad and realizing both are temporal. Accepting the fact that life isn’t fair helps too.

Take responsibility. Don’t sabotage myself.

If you’ve ever wondered if your life could get any worse, let me clear that up for you real quick. The answer is always yes. That may sound like a morbid thing to say, but the truth is that we’re always one decision away from making things much worse. And when things aren’t going well, we’re in the DANGER ZONE. Think about it: if you’re stuck in a crummy job, you are only one decision away from not having a job at all. If your marriage is going poorly, you are only one decision or one conversation away from a further setback. If you aren’t married and wish you were, you are one or several decisions away from creating a lot more misery for yourself and others.

It’s tempting to say that “God wills” my circumstances to be what they are and then act like a victim. But actually we’re usually our own worst enemy. Proverbs 19:3 says, “People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord” (NLT). When the chips are down, the temptation is even stronger to make foolish choices that add to our pain. We can’t always control our circumstances, but in every situation, we always have a choice of how to respond. And that means we have the responsibility to make a good choice, no matter how good or bad circumstances are.

Realize my pain will be able to be used in a positive way in the future.

If someone had said this to me when I was down, it would’ve brought me up real fast… swinging. That’s not what I wanted to hear. But unfortunately, not “just anyone” said these words. They came from Viktor Frankl in his book Man’s Search for Meaning, recounting his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz. They were also shared by psychologists to the survivors of the PanAm Flight 73 hijacking in 1986 as they prepared to board their next flight.

Those folks have “cred” in my book. I may not like the message, but I can take it coming from them. When I’m hurting, the last thing I want is “some perspective,” but even so, they’ve had far worse than me.

If you’re in pain, there is a sense in which you’re alone. Proverbs 14:10 says, “Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy” (NLT). No one else can walk your path for you and you may not see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know I couldn’t. When we’re stuck “in the waiting,” as Eliot’s poem says, we likely won’t be able to see the redemption in our circumstances. It’s only by faith that we can believe that this too shall pass.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader. To learn more about his services, visit NathanMagnuson.com/consulting or follow him on Twitter.

Dear God,

Give me faith, but don’t put me in situations that require it.

Give me hope, but don’t disappoint me.

Give me contentment, but give me everything I want.

Give me grace, but don’t put me around people who need it.

Give me patience, but don’t make me wait.

Give me forbearance, but don’t let people hurt me.

Give me compassion, but don’t let people bother me.

Give me comfort, but don’t let me experience grief.

Give me character, but don’t give me trials.

Give me answers, but don’t give me cause to question.

Give me discernment, but don’t let me experience uncertainty.

Give me self-control, but don’t let me be tempted.

Give me purpose, but don’t make me work to find it.

Give me perseverance, but don’t let me fail.

Give me peace, but don’t make me sacrifice.

Give me love, but don’t let me experience loss.

Give me success and I’ll give you credit.

Give me fame and I’ll share it with You.

Give me an easy life and I’ll follow You.

Your good and faithful servant,

Amen.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, speaker, and thought leader. To learn more about his services, visit NathanMagnuson.com/consulting or follow him on Twitter.

Last month I got to write a guest post for my friend Chris Hendrix’s faith-based blog exploring just that topic. I took some reflections on faith, doubt, old prayers, and tied it in with the game of Monopoly. Let’s face it, when you pray for God’s best, it’s like drawing a Chance card in Monopoly. It could help or it could hurt. But you’ll never know unless you play.

You can read my post in its entirety here on Chris’s site.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, speaker, and thought leader. To learn more about his services, visit NathanMagnuson.com/consulting or follow him on Twitter.

It was a pretty cool mission since I had a chance to use my business education in a very hands-on manner. But I quickly experienced some significant personal challenges due to the nature of being deployed to a foreign area. As an independent thinker, the authoritative hierarchical structure of the military hit me hard. Some of the folks I reported to weren’t interested in my ideas and weren’t always open to discussion. And since we were confined to the base and on call 24/7, there was no way to “escape” the environment until the 12 month deployment was over.

I spent most of 2008 serving in Iraq with the United States military. I was assigned to joint mission with military, department of state, and foreign aid agencies from several nations. My role was to serve as a business advisor to a local Iraqi small business development center and micro lending finance institute.

It was a pretty cool mission since I had a chance to use my business education in a very hands-on manner. But I quickly experienced some significant personal challenges due to the nature of being deployed to a foreign area. As an independent thinker, the authoritative hierarchical structure of the military hit me hard. Some of the folks I reported to weren’t interested in my ideas and weren’t always open to discussion. And since we were confined to the base and on call 24/7, there was no way to “escape” the environment until the 12 month deployment was over.

Most of the time we use our spiritual belief system to inform our business practices. But isn’t it interesting when the opposite takes place? Sometimes our business environment teaches us something about how we ought to approach our walk with God and also our faith in general. By now this has happened several times, but my experience in Iraq was one of the first.

I had always approached life with a go-getter attitude (still do). I’d always been a high achiever and quick to take initiative. I wanted to get an A in all my classes and be rated as a high performer at work and to have the reputation that went along with it. It’s clear that mindset carried over into my faith as I approached it as somewhat of a race or a contest. (I wonder how much different of a faith experience “type B” folks have.) So you can probably imagine some of my consternation when things didn’t go smoothly, I didn’t always win high marks for performance, or when I couldn’t escape my environment.

After months of fighting the system and fighting God some too (God wanted me to be excellent in all I do, right?), I finally came to the conclusion that my basis for success might be a little off. Sometimes getting an A+ in all of life’s pursuits just isn’t possible. Sometimes just passing is good enough. That burst my bubble initially, but I eventually was able to let go of my high-achiever mindset to accept the inevitable. In fact, I remember the day I finally decided to measure my success by just getting through each day until it was time to come home. It felt like giving up to me, but at least I was finally able to honestly manage my expectations.

Sometimes God places us in circumstances where we can’t excel, so that way we have to rely on Him. His goal isn’t to make us the hero of every story or for us to rise to the top of every class. If it was, we’d never grow, either in capability or humility. God wasn’t punishing me by allowing me to experience tough situations. He was giving me the opportunity to simply do a job that needed to be done and trust Him with the outcome. When we truly give God control of our both our personal and business lives, we can approach each project as an assignment from Him without being completely attached to our grade, rating, or reputation as the measure of success.

Now, when I’m in business situations, I pick and choose my battles based on my personal and organizational priorities. For the high priorities, I’ll give it everything I’ve got. With lower priorities – or when environmental factors outside my control carry too much weight – I don’t kill myself trying to make things perfect. I just try to make sure the job gets done. But more importantly, I realize that not only is God in control, He has a plan and a purpose for each assignment He gives me. Maybe He wants to put His “special forces” in tough situations where they won’t necessarily look good and there’s no easy answer. I’ve decided to volunteer, how about you?

In fact I know He does. At least I know He did. I’ve been reading Jason Clark’s book Surrendered and Untamed lately and thinking about Peter. Jason makes a great point that sometimes God’s favor means fishing all night without catching a thing to prepare you for the catch of a lifetime in the morning. That one stuck with me for a while. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Jesus not only went out of His way to be dramatic, but He did it in the way Peter would have appreciated most as a fisherman.

I’ve always loved to work and what I do for a living ranks extremely high on my priority and attention scale. In fact, I like work so much that I started my first blog just to help others be more effective in their work as well. I’ve also noticed that God gets my attention the fastest when things at work are either going incredibly well or not so well at all. He’s used these times to teach me, to direct and re-direct me, to correct me, to inspire me with new ideas, and sometimes just to show off. I can honestly say that what I do consumes the majority of my thoughts, passion, and prayers.

For this reason, I think it’s really unfortunate when folks assume they can only find God’s will by going out and doing something crazy. One of my pastor’s mantras is that “a change of pace + a change of place = a change of perspective, which I can really appreciate, especially when I get stuck in the rut of routine or need a chance to clear my head. At the same time, Peter got quite a change of perspective, but he didn’t need to take the initiative to change his pace or his place. Jesus took the initiative to find him.

Let’s start looking out for the God who goes out of His way to reach us. That’s what Jesus has been doing since the day He arrived on our planet. And I’m not talking just about “appreciating the beautiful sunsets” and “smelling the flowers” that He gives us each day. I’m talking in about the details of our normal lives. I think it’s a sign of faithfulness on our part to just dig in and not get fancy and over-complicate things. If we follow the natural bent God puts inside of us, make the most of the assignments He gives us, and in all our ways acknowledge Him, it shouldn’t be any wonder when He shows up along the way – in dramatic fashion.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, speaker, and thought leader. To learn more about his services, visit NathanMagnuson.com/consulting or follow him on Twitter.

“Lord, accept my thanks.”

I’m afraid the first mistake we make when we think about gratitude is to assume that God owes it to us to accept our thanks.  But one of the first stories in the Bible tells us this is not the case.  Both Cain and Abel presented gifts to God.  One was accepted and the other was not.  In the Old Testament law there were countless rules about how sacrifices ought to be offered, so that they would be accepted.  In Psalm 51, King David mentions, “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.  You will not reject a broken and repentant heart” (Ps 51:17, NLT).

Let’s not assume so quickly that expressing gratitude to God is a right.  In reality, it is a privilege.  With humility and an awareness of God’s glory and my complete dependency, let’s begin with the entreaty, “Lord, accept my thanks.”

The Four Components of Gratitude

Gratitude means more than simply saying “thank you.”  Here are four different expressions that we all ought to incorporate into both our mindsets and behaviors.

Thankfulness: Giving thanks for all I’ve been given.  The key words here are “all” and “given.”  All means that “apart from you I have no good thing” (Ps 16:2, NIV), and also “every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17, NIV).  It’s true that a lot of what we have and enjoy is precipitated by the hard work and decisions we’ve made at prior points in our lives.  But when it comes down to it, the will and strength to work, and ability to make good decisions, and the opportunities that come our way are all gifts from God.  And for many of us, the simple timing and placement of our birth set many of these things in motion – something we had absolutely no control over.  Realizing that all I have has been given to me ought to be enough reason to express my thanks in and for all things.

Generosity: Giving away some of what I’ve been given.  It’s amazing how hard it is to give away the things we have.  Unfortunately, it can be even harder the more we have.  Sometimes the most generous people are the ones who have the least.  Take a tip from Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A.  In his most recent book Wealth: Is It Worth It? he answers the question by saying that wealth is worth it only if we give it away.  And in the end, the Bible tells us “whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Cor 9:16, NIV).  Let’s take some of what we’ve been given keep the cycle going.

Sharing: Sharing some of the things that are mine to keep.  Most of us do not give 100% of everything we have away.  We usually keep the majority of it.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but just because I keep something doesn’t mean it cannot still be an object of gratitude.  The first thing we try to teach our kids about playing with others is to share.  Then why is it so hard for us?  We double (or triple or quadruple, etc.) the usefulness of our resources when we employ the things that are ours to keep in ways that also bless others.

Contentment: Being content with what I have.  One of the observations by the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, was that “most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors.  But this, too, is meaningless – like chasing the wind” (Eccl 4:4, NLT).  This is the same man who claimed “those who love money will never have enough.  How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!” (Eccl 5:10, NLT).  Most of us won’t be able to have everything we could ever want.  There will always be more out there than what we currently have. A lot of it may remain within reach, provided we sacrifice a little more or work a little harder.   It is a beautiful thing to work, wait, sacrifice, and save for what we want.  But at some point we each have to decide when enough is enough.  Many of the things we have are either good enough for now or good enough period.  Let’s follow Solomon’s advice, “Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.  Be wise enough to know when to quit” (Prov 23:4, NLT), realizing at the same time that “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim 6:6, NIV).

So as we enter the Thanksgiving season, I’d like to challenge each of you to do two things with me:

First, get in a posture of gratitude and ask God to accept our thanks.  If there is anything that repels our offering, let’s get rid of that thing!

Second, let’s come up with at least one way to demonstrate gratitude in each of these four categories.  Think of something we are thankful for and content with as well as something we can give away or share.

So I wanted to include a list of small group best practices I’ve picked up since I got started. Feel free to use any or all of them, or to add your own.

Pray.

This is where everything ought to start. Pray for your group and pray for your own leadership effectiveness. Start praying as soon as you know you will be leading a small group – or before that to know if you should lead one. I’ve included a list of prayers that we prayed for one of our small groups here.

Realize you are in an anointed position.

As a small group leader, you represent the church’s frontline leadership in discipling the members of the church. That’s an awesome responsibility! Take it to heart. Some people literally come back to church and into a growing relationship with God because of their small group (which wouldn’t exist without someone to lead it).

Don’t go it alone – recruit a co-leader.

I have gaps. You have gaps. We all have gaps. Get a co-leader to help you fill the gaps. Plus, it’s so much easier when you can share responsibility, trust me! Most of the time you will have to take the initiative to ask someone to join you. Pick someone you enjoy spending time with and talk about different roles you can both take on. For instance, one of you be primarily responsible for outlining an agenda and facilitating the discussion and the other be primarily responsible for ice-breakers or relationship-building aspects.

Set positive expectations upfront.

Start the group by talking about your vision for the experience. Tell everyone where you will all be going over the course of the next couple months. Tell them some of the things you’ve been praying for them and how you as leaders plan to serve them. (You can also look at this list to see the expectations my co-leader and I put together for one of our small groups as an example).

Understand that people join small groups for many different reasons; try to accommodate them.

I usually tend to choose small groups based on topic. But other people choose small group to make new friends and might not care about the topic as much. And of course weekday, time of day, and location are other decision-making criteria. You can’t always please everyone, but it does help to realize that people who come to your group may be there for reasons other than the ones that appeal the strongest to you.

Have a basic structure.

Notice I said basic. That’s somewhere in between having rigid agenda and completely winging it. Both extreme ends of the spectrum can make people uncomfortable. Be true to your topic but leave some margin for open-ended discussion.

Group first, self last.

Being a small group leader means you signed up to serve your group members, not to have them serve you. Instead of digging into a discussion you feel could present a breakthrough for you, invite your members to go deep on their own terms. Whatever you do, don’t use them to feed yourself! Go deeper with your co-leader afterwards if you need to. The most important thing is what God wants to do inside each person – and your group is just the conduit.

Don’t teach; facilitate.

Your group already has a pastor and it isn’t you! Think of your leadership role as one of creating an environment where spiritual breakthroughs can happen together. Many times, people experience a breakthrough as a result of something they say, not something that is said to them. When I’m leading a discussion, I try to be very cognizant of the amount of time I talk. My goal is to get the conversation started and then try to minimize my airtime and let others do most of the talking.

Give everyone a chance to participate.

Part of facilitation means making sure I don’t talk too much. It also means making sure others don’t talk too much, and that conversations stay reasonably on course. It is a shame whenever anyone doesn’t get the chance to participate. If your group is large, experiment with breaking discussions down further into 4-6 person circles and then finishing up as a larger group.

Stick to time boundaries.

Respect people’s schedules and don’t go overtime! Giving the Holy Spirit “room to work” shouldn’t be an excuse for poor leadership discipline. There’s a reason your church service doesn’t run for three hours on Sundays. (Does it??)

Recruit new leaders.

This is one of my favorite things to talk about and it’s critical, especially if your group is large or your church is growing (which I hope are the case). If your group is full, it means people enjoy coming to small group > which means there are likely others who are interested in small groups as well > which means there need to be small groups for them to attend > which means there need to be leaders to lead those small groups. Give this spiel early and often! Encourage your members to think and pray about whether they would want to lead – or help lead – a small group in the future. Tell them who they need to talk to or what they would need to do to sign up. Brainstorm ideas with them. You might even do an ice-breaker asking folks what type of small group they would lead if they were to lead a small group (wink, wink!). Most importantly, if you think any of the members would make great leaders, tell them personally. You may even ask them to co-lead a group with you in the future. And look for ways to give potential leaders extra ways to participate, such as leading a discussion or prayer time here or there.

Facilitate friendships and let the group know about other fun activities that are going on outside of group times.

This is huge for group members who are new to your church, new to the community, or who join small group primarily for the social aspect. If you are going to see a movie on Friday night, invite your small group to join you. If they are going to attending an event, encourage them to invite the rest of the group as well. I know from personal experience what a great blessings it is to join a small group and come away with some solid friends. It doesn’t happen all the time, but with a little initiative, you can help make this possible for others.

Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is have fun. (Tweet)

Sometimes it’s necessary to take a break and just have a good time on group night. I remember one small group in particular where we needed to stretch the material, so a few weeks in we held a “bonus night” with BBQ and games. Since no one knew each other yet, everyone got the chance to eat, talk, and have fun. It was a turning point since everyone felt ten times more at home with each other and dug in much more deeply the rest of the way.

Pray.

Finish where you started, drenched in prayer. Pray for the real-life situations your group members are going through. Pray for the other small groups and their leaders. Thank God for what He is doing and don’t be surprised when He answers your bold prayers. Anticipate it!  After all, it’s really His small group.

What best practices are missing? Please include yours in the comments below!

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, speaker, and thought leader. To learn more about his services, visit NathanMagnuson.com/consulting or follow him on Twitter.

I had a real-life object lesson when we presented a junior version of the Circle Maker series to our Sunday School kids. It was a big day and we had a prayer walk scheduled to circle the theater where we meet. The kids were excited and one of them recommended praying for the “sick and the homeless” people at one of our prayer stops. I thought this was a particularly good idea since one girl in our class, a five year-old named Mykala has leukemia. I wanted a chance to circle her in pray as we circled the theater.

An interesting thing happened to me when it came time to pray for the sick. I realized that the week before when we invited our kids to draw their own prayer circles on butcher paper, Mykala had asked that God would use her as a doctor someday. It had really impressed me then because at age five I was transitioning between an aspiring garbage man and an aspiring NFL quarterback. But as I started to pray for little Mykala, I realized that her desire to be a doctor had likely been shaped by all the times she must have spent with doctors in her short life, and those interactions had probably prompted the desire of how she wanted to be used by God. If this was God’s way of impressing on her the desire to help the sick, then the absence of the disease would have meant the absence of the calling!

For the record, I did pray for Mykala’s physical health. And I didn’t just pray that the leukemia would remain in remission, but that God would take it away altogether. (Even I know you can’t tell kids that bold prayers honor God and then offer up something weak yourself). But on the inside, I also prayed that God would accomplish His purposes for this little girl’s life.

And on the inside I also resolved a little harder to stop praying away and start praying through – to stop praying that the problems in my life would go away as soon as possible and risk diminishing God’s presence in me, His purposes for me, and His glory through me… as long as it takes.

Thank you NCC Crosswalk Kids!

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, speaker, and thought leader. To learn more about his services, visit NathanMagnuson.com/consulting or follow him on Twitter.