I’ve been thinking about dunking for as long as I can remember. I’ve had dreams where I could dunk. And despite all the thinking and dreaming, I’ve never really tried hard or put in the work. I’m no stranger to hard work or physical feats. I’m a 3x Ironman and feel a great power in what I can do with this body. I have faith I can dunk.
My dunking and faith are really similar. I've wanted to dunk since I found out that was a thing. I’ve been a Christian for as long as I can remember. I've never trained hard to be able to jump really high. I haven’t put much work into my faith either. My goal here is to change all that.
If I pray that one day I will dunk, can you pray that for me too? Seems silly. Am I wasting God's time with that prayer? If I had cancer and I asked you to pray for me, that doesn't seem so silly.
What can we ask God for in prayers? Certainly, that His will be done on Earth. That's in the Lord's Prayer(Matthew 6:5-15; Luke 11:1-13). And if we pray that we should realize, that means NOT God's will is also being done. Earth is a battleground. A lot is going on on Earth. Also there's gravity on Earth. That's not helping my dunking.
I don't know if it's His will that I be able to dunk. Does the Devil even care if I can dunk or not? And if the Devil didn't want me to dunk, could even the whole army of Satan stop me from soaring through the air and rocking the rim with a nasty slam?
I do know the Devil wants us to quit praying. We should keep praying, about my dunking, about everything (Philippians 4:6-7).
SAMSON
I'm fascinated with Samson in my dunking quest. (The Samson from the Bible, not 7' 4" Ralph Sampson.) God used Samson mightily and he’s well known for his physical feats of incredible strength. Sure, his power was in his hair, but I'm fascinated by what we aren't told about Samson.
With God’s help, Samson crushed thousands of people. The Sprit of the Lord came upon him three separate times, and serious things happened, all really bad for the Philistines. But we aren’t ever told of Samson's physique. He could have been 9' tall or 4' tall. He could have weighed 100 lbs or 500 lbs. Maybe he was just an average dude. And we're never told of Samson's amazing workout routine, or if he ever lifted weights or did CrossFit. Maybe he had huge muscles. He could have been a string bean. The Bible doesn’t say.
I'm still regularly getting haircuts, but I’m thinking I’m going to need God's help and big muscles. Or is true faith, eating donuts and praying for the Sprit of the Lord to come upon me one time so I can dunk? I don't even really like donuts. I better keep working out and praying.
RAISE IT
What if I told everyone to all go gather at the gym. I grab a ball and tell everyone, I'm going to dunk. They all stare at me, they stare at the 10' hoop.
"Raise it," I say. "Higher." The goal is raised to 11'.
"Raise it again," I say. The goal is raised to 12'.
"Raise it a third time," I say. The goal is raised to 13'.
What height would make you believe if this is what I prayed next?
“Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Making the impossible more impossible, never makes it impossible for God. Elijah knows what I'm talking about. (1 Kings 18:16-39)
