When We Pray

by Luke McConnell

When we pray, we always have expectations. When we pray for healing, we have expectations for what that looks like. When we pray for financial needs, we pray with a number in mind. Even when we pray the phrase, “Your will be done,” we might be thinking, “I hope your will looks like this or that.”

In preparing this year for Whiz Kids, we’ve certainly had expectations of growth for this ministry. We’ve seen tangible results, both academic and spiritual, and know God is allowing us to do a good work. We want to continue to grow and serve as many kids at Council Grove Elementary as possible. 

Simply put, God has blown our expectations out of the water. 

Currently, we are pushing 40 tutors who have committed to loving and serving a child at Council Grove. Council Grove is not a huge school. I would estimate 40 students in Whiz Kids comprises about 20 percent of the kids who are eligible for Whiz Kids. What an unbelievable impact this could have at this school and in the lives of these kids and their families!

Thank you, Council Road, so much for your response and your support of this ministry. There is no other explanation for why this has been so successful apart from God’s incredible work through this ministry. Makenzie and I are not actively recruiting tutors at this point, yet it seems each week we hear from one or two more people who want to be involved! Don’t worry, we can use you if you’re interested in serving!

It’s humbling to be part of something where the results far exceed the results your abilities alone would produce. Only God could have done this in the past few months. And that’s comforting to know because if success depended on my abilities, I’d be in trouble. 

However, it’s also easy to look at these results and take pride in what has transpired. “Look at our charisma! We run a ministry in which everyone wants to participate! How awesome are we?” Temptation would lead us to believe we’re the source of this success. But that’s not the case. 

2 Corinthians 4:7 says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” TIme and again in Scripture, mankind is contrasted with God, and the results are not flattering for us. We’re so small and insignificant in comparison to the glory and power of God. How arrogant of us to think we can do great things apart from Him! 

And when we ask God for things, our expectations are often too small. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Immeasurably more. Not a little more. Immeasurably. Literally not measurable. 

God has immeasurably blessed our Whiz Kids ministry, and we’re so thankful for you, our church family, for answering the call to serve these kids. Not only do we need to serve these kids in our community, but we also need to serve the kids within our walls. Please prayerfully consider serving in the preschool, kids or student ministries. Their discipleship is our responsibility. Let’s make sure we’re doing that well and to the fullest extent of our abilities. 

We have a huge need for transportation right now for Whiz Kids. Our capacity to minister to kids has exceeded the capacity of our church vehicles. We need additional, large-capacity vehicles to move the kids from Council Grove to the CUBE. Please join us in praying for a solution to that obstacle. 

I don’t believe God brought us all these people willing to serve in Whiz Kids only to have them sit on the sidelines because of a transportation issue. We know God will provide a solution, and we’re expectant of what that solution will look like. And as we’ve seen, our expectations for that solution are probably small in comparison to what God has in store for us. 

Thank you, CRBC. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It’s a joy to serve with you and to see you care for the community and desire to be used by God to change lives. Some of these kids’ lives will be changed by their reading ability lifting them out of generational poverty. Some of these kids will be changed by seeing men and women living in a way they’ve never experienced in their own lives. And some of these kids will be (we pray) changed for eternity because they gave their lives to Jesus at Whiz Kids. 

That’s our prayer. That’s our hope. Thank you for helping make it possible. 

Author Bio
Luke serves as the Cube Director at Council Road. He previously worked at Channel 9 as a sports writer and an account executive. He also serves as the play-by-play voice for Southern Nazarene University athletics. Luke graduated from OU in 2011. He and his wife, Mary, have been members at Council Road since 2012. Mary teaches second grade at Wiley Post Elementary. They have four boys: Andrew, Logan, Jackson and Cameron.