I am a “hedge” prayer.

That statement probably sounds so funny and confusing. Let me explain…

Fear is my battle. Always has been. When I was younger I was terrified of:

• Alligators under my bed
• Tornadoes, hurricanes, twisters
• House fires
• Diseases
• Bees
• Stray animals
• The Basement

There’s a lot more….and when I got older the list didn’t get any shorter it just changed from alligators under the bed to well, many other things.

So here’s where the “hedge prayer” came in. I prayed every night and every morning and all the in betweens this:

“God I pray a hedge of protection over my life. No wait, I pray a whole forrest! And I pray for a brick wall that cannot be knocked down. Oh…and I want your strongest Guardian Angels. That should be enough, but if you think of any other kinds of protection, send it my way.”

A good day was a safe day in my books. No weird weather, no creepy bugs…or creepy people, no conflict, no gossip, no fights.

One day God challenged me. I was praying for big God opportunities and miracles and just got this little knock in my heart that said “Kingdom Business doesn’t happen behind your forrest.” We can’t experience miracles sometimes because we don’t take risks and put ourselves in situations where miracles are necessary.

Ephesians 3:20 is one of my favourite scriptures. It says “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” Did you catch that? “Far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.”

But we need to be bold enough to change up our prayers and say “I pray for opportunities that are so big I can’t even imagine them. Challenge me. Stretch me. Put me where you need me.” Pray for things you don’t even think are attainable and allow God to surprise you at just how powerful He is.

This year is YOUR year. Don’t look back and say “Well that was safe.” I want you to be able to say you took some ground for the Kingdom of God. And that means having some scary days, some conflict, some risk and some failure. But it also means growth and change and learning.

Pastor Natasha