A Prayer to Stop Being Afraid to Ask God for Help Again
By Rachel Wojo

Bible Reading:
"Elisha said, 'Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few.'" - 2 Kings 4:3

Listen or Read Below:

I drove a 2008 Honda Odyssey for fifteen years.

Somewhere around year ten, I started calling it my widow's oil. It was the van that hauled infant carriers, then toddler seats, and then kids who didn't need seats at all. It drove us to specialist appointments, family vacations, and the grocery store on the hardest days. It brought my special needs daughter, Taylor, home from the hospital more than once. That van kept running long past the point it had any business running, and I knew, the way you know things without having to say them out loud, that God was the reason it was still in my driveway.

Three years ago, the Lord provided the "upgrade" to a 2015 Odyssey, which sounds funny to say out loud. But I remember sitting in the dealership and feeling sad. Closing that chapter felt so final. Matt and I brought our last two babies home from the hospital in that van. The last trip, bringing Taylor home from the hospital after a round of illness, had made the whole thing personal. I wasn't just trading a van. I was trading fifteen years of God's faithfulness for a new chapter I couldn't yet see.

But I haven't always named God’s provision so bravely. There have been prayers that didn't come the way I hoped, and I caught myself the next time praying smaller. Hedging. I would ask for just a little because, well, God surely didn’t want to give me much. Sound familiar?

In 2 Kings 4, a widow with almost nothing left comes to Elisha in a panic. Creditors are coming for her sons. She has a little oil in the house, and that's it. Elisha asks her what she has, and then he says something so very important:

"Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few."

I love those words: Don't ask for just a few.

The oil kept flowing as long as there were jars to fill. When the jars ran out, the oil stopped. Her provision wasn't limited by God's supply. It was limited by what she was willing to ask for.

I wish someone had told me that ten years ago, when a prayer I'd carried for a long time didn't come the way I hoped. Have you ever just prayed around the edges of what you really needed? Maybe you’re praying only for the things you think are reasonable enough to get a yes. You tell yourself that’s what mature Christians do, when you’re actually trying to protect your heart from being disappointed again.

It took me a while to understand that a prayer that didn't come the way I hoped is not a signal to ask for less. It's not evidence that God is done being good to you. And it is not a character flaw to bring Him the full-size version of what's on your heart.

The God who kept my Odyssey running for fifteen years is the same God who multiplied oil for a widow with empty jars. He not only has, but is more than enough to meet your needs today.

Will you pray with me?

Let's Pray:

Heavenly Father,

I've been praying small. You know the prayer I'm talking about, the big one from a while back that didn't come the way I hoped, and the way I've been hinting at it ever since. 

Forgive me for deciding what You can and can't do based on one answer I didn't understand. Forgive me for calling my fear "faith." Forgive me for bringing You the polite version of my prayers when You've been waiting for the real ones.

Lord, I'm bringing You the empty jars today. The hopes I've been softening because they feel too big. Those dreams and desires I've been embarrassed to name out loud anymore. Fill them however You want to fill them. I'll trust You with the outcome the way I'm finally trusting You with the ask.

In Jesus' name, Amen.
Photo Credit: SparrowStock

If you're in a season where answers feel far away, I wrote Desperate Prayers: Embracing the Power of Prayer in Life's Darkest Moments for those kinds of seasons. For more encouraging Honda Odyssey turned widow’s oil stories, this book meets you where you are.

Rachel Wojo is an inspirational author, public speaker, and podcaster known for her popular blog, rachelwojo.com. Through her biblical approach and personal life experiences, Rachel empowers women to discover strength and hope in everyday situations. Despite enduring the loss of her mother, adult special needs daughter, and father, Rachel remains resilient. She has authored the uplifting book,  Desperate Prayers: Embracing the Power of Prayer in Life's Darkest Moments  and a new beautiful, spiral-bound prayer journal, Praying the Promises of God, Rachel is crazy in love with her husband, Matt, and cherishes her motherhood with six children on earth and two in heaven.

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