Praying For Cali Chicken
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
Praying for Cali Chicken! I know. It sounds silly and yet do we believe that God cares about the details of our lives? We seem to run wide open to pray about the really big things in our lives, but how about those things that do seem a bit ridiculous?
My day was filled with details to be taken care of before leaving home for a week. My heart was already at the beach, but the details continued to drag me back to the reality of the moment. I was in route to my first errand and busy rehearsing my To Do list, combined with prayer. I remember exactly where I was sitting at the stop sign when I calculated that my last stop would be Kroger where I would fill the car with fuel and quickly grab a few roadtrip snacks. It was there that I broke out into prayer. “Lord, would you please provide Cali Chicken for my friend? Could this be the day that the shelf would be stocked? I would love to surprise her with the meal she enjoys, but has been unable to find for several months. It would be so wonderful if while I am grabbing snacks, I could find Cali Chicken.” The prayer was not really for Cali Chicken, but a desire to surprise my friend. Little did I know that the surprise would be for me.
Fast forward through my busy errand day. By the time I filled the car with fuel, my personal tank registered below empty. I decided the popcorn snack wasn’t important and I would forego that last stop. And then I remembered my prayer for Cali Chicken. I tried to brush it off because I was tired and just wanted to get home, pack the suitcase, climb into bed, and awaken refreshed for the beach drive.
But softly, I sensed His voice. “You prayed and asked me for Cali Chicken. Would you not at least go inside and see if I provided it today?”
The question stopped me in my tracks and I quickly pulled into the parking spot. Before responding to the question, I pondered. Yes, I had asked Him for the chicken and I really wanted to surprise my friend. But now the time was late and I was tired, I just wanted to go home. But I couldn’t ignore His voice.
“Yes, Lord, I hear you. Would I not press past the tiredness and the small inconvenience and just see if You answered? Why would I ask and not look? Yes I will.”
When we ask of Him, we should be expectant of Him.
I lingered in the moment, because I knew that He was giving me a revelation about prayer. Important prayers far bigger than Cali Chicken would need this lesson He was generously pouring out. At this point it was insignificant if the refrigerated shelf held the Cali Chicken or not. I was sitting with Him and He was giving me a treasure. The promise is found in our key verse.
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
It doesn’t say, “Ask me for Cali Chicken and I will give you Cali Chicken. The promise here is that He will answer. And He did answer and was showing me great and mighty things that I needed to know.
How many requests have I left sitting on the shelf, simply because I was too tired or too lazy or too unexpectant to look for the answer? I felt repentance well up in my heart and I couldn’t get out of the car quickly enough. It felt like joyful obedience marching into the store. I pushed back the tears as I stepped through the doors. I really didn’t care about the Cali Chicken at this point, but instead I was obeying His voice.
After months and months of empty shelf shopping, on that day the shelf was brimming. I giggled as I stacked my cart with Cali Chicken. My friend got Cali Chicken that day, but I got a treasure in prayer. I’m sharing the provision with you and I promise it’s better than Cali Chicken.
Ask...then expectantly look for the answer. Don’t focus on the request. Focus on God. Listen for His voice and live expectant. He longs to surprise you. And sometimes it includes Cali Chicken.