What Happens When You Ask For it?

I'm sure you have heard the age-old saying, "Be careful what you wish for!" It's a common phrase that people say when someone they know and love is wanting something or desiring something to happen or play out in a particular way, but as the friend, you might be experiencing a preconceived notion that ohhh, this might not end well. I am not one to put a penny in the wishing well, because rather than wishing for something, I have a God who hears my prayers and knows the desires of my heart. However, I do have to say that I think this saying reigns true as we present our requests to God. Instead of "Be careful what you wish for," I believe, from a Christian perspective, that the saying should read, "Be careful what you pray for." Let me tell you why.

If you are a Christian, or have listened to any Christian music, I am sure you have heard the common prayer, "Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours." I know I have sang that prayer in the midst of many worship gatherings, but this morning, those words, that prayer, reached to a whole new depth in my heart. I began to think, "Wow-- do I really know what I am saying when I ask God to break my heart for what breaks His?" The reason I say be careful what you pray for, is because God is going to answer, and it may be unpleasant, and a bit more powerful than what you might expect. 

This morning, as I was scrolling my Pinterest page (a guilty pleasure as I sip my morning coffee), I came across one particular pin that I just couldn't get past: 

Please, take a moment to take this in, and it may take more than a moment. It may haunt your heart and mind for awhile, because that's what it sure did to me. 

The reason I say be careful what you pray for, is because this morning, I really wasn't prepared for what I was praying for. When I first saw this pin, of course it cut deep, but when I asked God to break my heart for what breaks His, I didn't expect Him to prompt me by His Spirit to dig deeper into this issue. 

The message of the cross, and the beauty of God's redemptive love is illegal. Please let that sink in... ILLEGAL. It doesn't mean frowned upon; it doesn't mean judgement; it doesn't even mean excommunicated, rather execution, torture, abuse. As I was doing some research, I found some numbers that completely blew my mind, and absolutely felt like a sword cutting my heart into two broken pieces. Take a look:

According to Open Doors, a ministry serving persecuted Christians throughout the world, there are 50 countries that are experiencing religious persecution, in regards to the practice of the Christian faith. I'm not going to list the 50 countries, but what I will list, are the statistics that I was able to gather. The website listed the population for each country, and the number of Christians in that particular country. The total population for the 50 countries combined is 4,671,175,000 people, and the number of Christians in those 50 countries is 423,429,000 people. This means that less than 10% (.0906%) of the total population are followers of Jesus Christ, and those that are followers, are risking their lives to practice the Christian faith and be disciples of Jesus. 

Putting these numbers into perspective: There are currently about 7 billion people living in the world. This means that 66.7% of the population is experiencing or will experience persecution if the individual chooses to hear the message of the Gospel, and become a disciple of Jesus. Out of those 50 countries there are various levels of persecution that Christians face. In 11/50 of the countries, or 22%, Christians face extreme persecution. In 28/50 of the countries or 56% Christians face moderate persecution, and in 11/50, or 22% of the countries, Christians face sparse persecution. 

As if that were not enough, here are some more shocking statistics about persecution according to Open Doors. The definition of Christian persecution is any hostility experienced from the world as a result of one's identification as a Christian. Each month, 332 Christians are killed for their faith, 214 churches and Christian properties are destroyed, and 772 forms of violence are committed against Christians (this includes beatings, abductions, rape, arrests, and forced marriages). 

Now you may be wondering, "So how does this have anything to do with being careful about what I pray for?" Well, let me refer to the blog post title... "What Happens When You Ask For it?" My answer to that question is this... you get it. When you pray to God and present your requests to Him, He will respond. He isn't some statue in the sky that we pray to out of obligation, He is alive and well, and He is ready and willing to work in our hearts and lives if we let Him. He hears our prayers, and He knows the sincerity of our hearts. When our hearts are ready for it, He will break them, and I'll be honest, the feeling is not warm and fuzzy. Social injustice has weighed heavily on my heart for a long time, but today, the Lord truly took my prayer to break my heart for what breaks His to a whole new level. I am thankful for the pain and sorrow that I feel in my heart, and for the many moments of weeping, because it compels me to action. The beauty of a broken heart, is that God does not leave you alone with it. He provides opportunities to get involved, to take action, to research, and to become educated on what is truly going on in this world that we call home. He breaks each of our hearts in a unique way, giving us unique interests, desires and gifts to partner with Him in bringing redemption to this broken world. 

Today I am filled with sorrow. I am brokenhearted for those that are facing persecution for remaining faithful to their love for Jesus, and commitment to following Him. I am also experiencing an incredible gratitude and appreciation to be able to call the United States of America my home. I am thankful for being born and raised in a home where the message of the Gospel is not only legal, but has been fed into my soul since the moment I was brought into this world. I am thankful for my relationship with Jesus. I'm thankful for His guidance and provision, and I am so thankful that as humans we can be so in tune with Him through the Holy Spirit, that we are able to feel the brokenness of God's very own heart. We are able to weep with Him, rejoice with Him, and share in a life of ministry, working toward the goal of redeeming this broken world by sharing the good news of the Gospel. 

Please, take a moment today to meditate on this truth: You are free to follow Jesus. It may seem like a simple truth; a truth that I often take for granted and do not put much thought into, but please know that you are privileged to live where you do, privileged with great freedom, and privileged with safety. Don't take those gifts for granted; allow them to be used to pass the message of the Gospel onward. And please, join me in praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are fighting for their safety and their lives to continue following Jesus. May the Lord bless them and keep them safe and may the power of the Holy Spirit move through these nations and governments, and may the Good News of the Gospel know no boundaries, illegal or not, may it pour into every heart that so desperately needs to hear it. 

Remember, be careful what you pray for. Prepare your heart, because when you ask for it, He will answer.

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." Proverbs 31:8

Source: 

https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/