THE REFUGE BLOG: Use me!
By Bill Butler
Rick Warren spoke at Liberty University last year. For those who don’t know, Liberty is the University that I just recently graduated from, so I often review videos of on campus speakers. In his speech Warren dared the students to pray a simple prayer:
“The most dangerous prayer you will ever pray, it’s only two words; ‘Use me!’ I dare you to pray it!”
Are you ready to ask Jesus to do this? Are you afraid where it will lead you?
This prayer has biblical support too. Although Warren did not quote the book of Isaiah in his speech, it was clearly an inspiration for the prayer:
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8 NIV)
Isaiah was offering himself to God to do His will. Have you done this?
Are you helping the needy, even if you consider yourself needy? What about widows and orphans? God made a point of mentioning them when His Holy Spirit inspired the Bible: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27 NIV)
In the book of Matthew, Jesus sent a message about the gospel and the poor to John the Baptist: “Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.’” Jesus made a point of reaching out to the poor.
Maybe God wants you to help those in need, or maybe he wants you to step up in ministry. How can you know? Pray the most dangerous prayer you will ever pray… “USE ME!” Amazing things will come out of it, if you are brave enough to make it happen.
Your thoughts?
Comments
Brittanie Cunningham posted this on the REFUGE Facebook page:
There comes a point when a lot of us say what’s next? Some times we are afraid of what is to come next because we can’t foresee what is coming next. I believe this is why so many people are afraid to say “Use me” because we don’t know what …is in store for us next. Or maybe we just don’t know how to take the signs for what we should be doing next when the signs are right in front of us. I think of it as Dora the Explorer the reason why I say that is because it’s obvious which path we should take and what to do next but some times we have to sit there and think and question the right path and than make a choice! But by praying and asking God to use us we are opening ourselves up to Him to lead us even further into the right way. Does that make any sense?
Sarah Warner posted this response on the Refuge Facebook page:
I have had to ask Him very recently if writing is the way He wants to use me, and after re-reading my new writing project that isn’t poetry, well, I am starting to really question it. I honestly think the words “being used” has had negative connotations only because some people have colored those words to mean negative things maybe because the level of fear the unknown was too high or maybe it was colored that way by something else. When in all actuality, it can mean some pretty awesome things. It’s still hard to let Him use me the way He wants, but in the end, I must remember that He has got a great plan for me, as I know He has a great plan for everyone. Guess you know now what the basis for the new writing project is.
I have asked God in the past to Use Me and things did change. They were not necessarily easy, I did not know where God wanted me, to stay where I was or to move somewhere else and start there and find a career. I think almost any true honest prayer you ask for can be scary, but may have a huge impact on your life if you stick with it. Use me is an open invitation to do what you want with my life so it is pretty much all inclusive.
I think if you make an honest prayer that will change you or what you are doing and stay with it like “use me” it may not be easy, or what you think you want at the time, but you will end up right where God wants you. You just have to stay with it and listen to what God is saying, sometimes it just hits you what to do, other times it has to be repeatedly beaten into you like when I asked where should I be, should I stay here or leave. He was screaming at me to stay as the pieces of my life were actually falling into place and I was active and needed all the time, then it clicked.
Other prayers that can be hard but good were mentioned in the video clip and I thought of them before they were even mentioned. One that I have asked for before is for patience and help with a bad temper. I asked these prayer knowing full well that God does not just give you the ability, He will test it. So I asked for these things and my patience was tested every day. It was not easy but as I found as I went through it that I grew (well God grew me) and became more patient which in turn helped the temper. Many times I thought I was failing and it was too much, but God helped me grow to be better. I still have room to grow, it is a continual process, but we all have room to grow until the day we die or Jesus comes back. The hardest and scariest prayers may be hard to follow through on but are by far the most rewarding!
its funny how after praying this prayer you are almost certin to face trials…and even through those trials you can feel an underlying sence of peace…proof positive that God is at work.
I have been thinking about this prayer a lot lately, especially after watching the Jon Acuff-Liberty University Convocation sermon. In this sermon he talked about doing what God has planned for our lives. Also, I wasn’t at church for it, but I was able to get the CD on the sermon Todd preached on 5/6/12 about feeling like we are “loosing our way,” and not knowing what direction to go in because we don’t always feel like we understand what God’s purpose for us is. When this happens it’s like life seems to become bland and the same old thing over and over again. I have been trying to figure out how to break this “cycle” that we all tend to fall into at some point. I think sometimes we rely too much on ourselves to change the future and break out of our cycle. I personally need to start praying for God to use me. This can be a scary prayer. This prayer takes a lot of faith when we take it seriously because it is telling God he has full reign of our lives! It is saying He can have full control over the places we live, the things we do and the people with which we spend our time with. It’s funny how much of Christianity down to it’s core is about the basic principle of faith. Hebrews 11:1 says- “Faith is being sure of what you hope for, and certain of what you do not see.” It is scary to ask God to use us because we don’t know where it will bring us and what the future may hold. I know I need to start praying this prayer in order to live a life of true faith.
Leave a Comment