I gathered with about 50 other Jesus followers this morning to spend an hour in prayer. It was nothing short of amazing.

What made this morning so special was that we invited five of our ministry partners to join us so that we could simply pray for whatever they needed. The leader of each ministry took two minutes to tell us about their most pressing challenge.

Gary Porter, from the Christian Children’s Home, asked us to pray for 30 families that would be willing to become forever homes for children eight years of age or older.

Jill Taylor, from the Pregnancy Support Center, asked us to pray for more servant volunteers.

Terry Hunka, from ChildReach Ministries, asked us to pray for the needed financial resources for children in Peru who are desperate for life altering surgeries–procedures that cost about $250 each.

As I was sitting at the table praying, God just wrecked my heart. I couldn’t help but think that God has already answered every prayer we were praying. There are more than enough families in the church to care for every foster child in need. There are more than enough Christians to fill all of the volunteer positions needed to save the lives of the unborn. If we would have simply emptied our wallets, we could have provided the funds for countless surgical procedures.

But instead we prayed. We asked God to do what we’re not willing to do. Prayer is absolutely vital. But I wonder if our prayers should begin with each of us asking God if He wants us to be the answer to our prayers?