Casandra Martin

The end of the semester was quickly approaching and she was fretting. One class had been particularly tough. She read the textbook, took notes, did extra credit, went to study groups, and pored over charts, definitions, and protocols. Still, it was all going to come down to one final test. If she did well enough, she would move on. If not, she would have to go back to the starting line.

She added up her scores, measured how far she needed to go, and calculated the distance to her goal. “I need an 83, Mom,” she said. “If I can just get an 83, everything will be okay.” I did some encouraging and cheerleading, promising to pray every step of the way.

Relating our conversation to my husband later that evening, her dad listened and said, “We are going to pray for a 93, not an 83.” Right then, we started praying for a 93.

During our next phone visit, I told my daughter that we were praying for a 93. “But I only need an 83,” she said. “I know, but we are going to ask for more.”

For days we prayed for a 93. For days she sweated getting an 83. Finally the moment arrived. As she checked her grades, her eyes got wide. A big grin stretched across her face as she rejoiced in crossing the finish line. Then I watched her eyes fill up with tears. “I got a 93 on the final, Mom. I got a 93.”

She studied hard for her test, but I am the one who learned a lesson. How many times do I settle for merely enough when God wants to pour out immeasurably more? Too often, I am satisfied with getting by when God wants to fill me to overflowing. I long to sneak across the finish line when God offers grace and a victor’s crown.

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” – John 10:10b

My Jesus Resolution today is to pray bigger. I am going to let God’s power and the riches of His mercy define the boundaries of my dreams. I want to let His will stretch my imagination. I am not going to settle for just barely enough. I don’t want to just get by. I want to live in His fullness, rejoice in His richness, and praise Him for His abundance. Next time I face a test, I am going to ask for a 93.