Are you asking God to help you become fat? I’m not talking about gaining a little weight, but to be really, really fat.

I suspect not. Unless you’re struggling with a health issue (for which you have my sympathy and prayers), asking God to make you fat is probably the last thing you’d ever pray for. Same here. But with the recent anniversary of Reverend Billy Graham’s death, I’m praying for this once again. Let me explain.

In past articles, I’ve shared how I spent most of my adult life struggling with anorexia nervosa. I was afraid to eat because I didn’t want to get fat. This history makes my prayer especially shocking.

When Billy Graham’s son, Ned, spoke at his father’s funeral on March 2, 2018, he said, “My father was FAT. He was Faithful. Available. Teachable. May we all be that way.”

Amen.

So even though I NEVER thought I’d pray this, I’m praying it now: “Lord, make me FAT – really, really FAT!”

Do you feel this way, too? Do you desire to become faithfully stout, availably plump and teachably heavy – in Christ?

Perhaps we should begin by asking God to show us where we’re too thin in the way we live our lives before Him. Where we need to put on weight in our willingness to serve others in His name. And confess our leanness in the “faithful” and “available” departments. We might also honestly consider how often we fast from being teachable – to being open to instruction, humility and yielded-ness.

How much would we change if we prayed to grow stout in servanthood? So much so that we strive to understand and fully experience what Matthew 23:11 (ESV) says, “The greatest among you shall be your servant”?

Is it possible to gorge ourselves on status by doing all we can to be recognized as a great ministry leader or Christ-follower in our community while neglecting, to the point of starvation, actually doing that which represents Christ? Are we too busy building our brand to volunteer at the homeless shelter, help with the children’s ministry at church or mow our sick neighbor’s lawn?

I’m thankful Billy Graham modeled so beautifully how to be an authentic FAT servant of Christ.

May we all seek to become FAT. Really, really FAT.

What do you think?

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this post. (Others might also benefit from your comment.)

• In what areas do you need to put on weight?
• In what areas do we need to pray for the church to become more FAT?

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