Turn It Up to 11

In the classic comedy “This is Spinal Tap,” (yes, I’m showing my age) guitarist Nigel Tufnel points to the volume knob on his amplifier and explains that while all the other amps have “10” as their top volume, his goes to “11.” From that movie, an entire generation shouted, “Turn it up to 11!” anytime we wanted to increase the volume, jazz up the crowd, or in general, bring up the intensity of any effort. Just when you thought 10 was as high as you could go, you could always turn it up one more notch. Turn it up to 11!

The other day, I saw a meme where someone had attached this clip from the movie, and it reminded me of the time I discovered there are higher numbers than 10. Several years ago, I felt the Lord was inviting me to journey with Him into a deeper prayer life. There was no guilt. There was no pressure. This came to me as a pure invitation.

I said “no.”

Here’s why. I have made a million promises to Jesus and I’ve kept almost none of them. It’s embarrassing to me, and it must be embarrassing to Jesus. I was honest in my response. “Let’s just agree, Lord, that I’m doing the best I can, and I’ll probably never do much better. I make a lot of promises, like New Year’s resolutions, and sooner or later, I’m back to my mediocre ways.” For me, it was a sad moment of accepting reality.

Then, I felt another invitation. “Will you do it for 30 days?” The Lord, who understands I’m weak and made of dust, gave me an opportunity that was adjusted to my spiritual size. Ok, if you can’t commit your life, will you promise to do it for 30 days?

Sure. I can do that.

So, I made a commitment for 30 days. I got up early, read Scripture and wrote in my journal as I prayed. I prayed for my family. I prayed for my church. I prayed for friends and yes, I prayed for those I perceived as enemies. Healing, forgiveness, conviction, and blessing all unfolded in those early morning times. When the thirty days were up, I couldn’t dream of stopping. So, I committed for another 30 days.

I’ve been doing this prayer time for over 25 years, 30 days at a time.

Of course, I prayed for my wife, Jeannie. I prayed I would be a good husband to her. I prayed for her as a wife, mother, nurse and all the other roles she played in our world.

And my marriage changed. Now, here’s the interesting part of this story. If you had asked me, I would have told you my marriage is a 10. I had a very good marriage. I had a great marriage. But here’s what I didn’t know. God has higher numbers than 10. God was the original “turn it up to 11!” I had no idea my marriage could go to 11…or 15…or 376!

God, being infinite, is infinite in all His ways, in all His attributes, in all He is and does. God is unlimited in His grace. His goodness can't be measured. His love goes on forever and ever. Our limits aren’t His limits. Just because we think this is as good as it gets, doesn’t mean this is as good as God can do.

Too many times, we settle for something that we think is great when God wants to give us so much more. The old preachers tell a story of a saint getting their first tour of heaven when they come to a large warehouse of good things. The saint looked at the packages and boxes stacked to the ceiling of the warehouse. The saint looked at the contents of the boxes and realized they were packed with things the saint had always wanted. “What is this room?” the saint asked his angel who was escorting him on the tour. “Oh,” the angel said, “these are the blessings Jesus wanted to give you, but you never asked for.”

The will of God for us isn’t that we survive, but that we thrive.

His call to us isn’t for us to be happy, but that our lives be overfilled with joy.

Not that we be just forgiven, but that we be filled with His presence.

Not that our prayers just be answered, but that we see the Father do far more than we could imagine.

One of the saddest verses in all of scripture is when Jesus leaves Nazareth, unable to do any miracles because of their unbelief. Let’s not do the same thing in our prayers. Let’s not limit what God can do because we don’t believe enough to ask or because we don’t know Him well enough to trust how much He desires to do for us. God can do more than we know. He wants to do more than we can comprehend.

Don’t be shortchanged in your faith. Next time you pray, be sure to ask God to “turn it up to 11.”

This essay was first posted in Scot McKnight’s newsletter.