day fourteen: praying BIG like miss johnson.

I loved Mrs. Doubtfire as a kid.  I'll never forget watching it for the first time and loving it. 

 
I will also never forget when my grandparents gave me this book and told me how wonderful it was. 

Being an admitted book-cover-judger, I had a really hard time getting over the uncanny similarities.  But I am SO GLAD that I did.  Because Miss Johnson, as the founder of BSF and amazing woman of God became known as, lived life WELL and reading about it in this biography was not only encouraging and full of incredible stories of seeing God move but was also convicting and challenging.

Hands down, it is Miss Johnson's willingness to pray BIG that really challenged me and got me on my knees, asking the Lord to give me a heart that would be willing to pray like she did.  There were two prayers in this book that have stuck with me and tonight, they are convicting me all over again.

"Lord, I am hungry, AT ANY COST, for You. If this is of You and Your purpose for me, I WILL GO through with it--but please make sure I am in Your will."

& 

"Lord, I am WILLING AT ANY COST that Thy death be worked out in me in order that Thy resurrection life may be manifested."

The past couple weeks, I have been wrestling with the Lord about something that is really a great thing that I have been holding onto and wondering if He is asking me to let go.  Tonight, as He brought these prayers back to mind, I was hit in the gut once again.  AT ANY COST.  Everything in my flesh is resisting me praying these words but I can almost literally feel the Spirit holding me tight and the safety of His presence gives me the courage to do it.

(Thanks for this encouragement, Sidney. :))

So tonight, praying BIG is praying like Miss Johnson who gave up her life and what God did with it has blessed multiple generations of people seeking to study God's Word.  Including my great-grandmother, grandmother, mom, aunt, me, and now my two precious girls who go with me.  To say I am thankful is a profound understatement. 

Lord Jesus, help me to count the cost and find that NO AMOUNT is too high a price to pay to be called Your servant and to be used by You.