Dear friends,
There was quite a frenzy last week over the enormous jackpot in the Powerball lottery in the United States. Some people from Quebec and other provinces crossed the border, chasing their dream to get rich quickly. When it comes to prayer, do we sometimes approach God in a selfish way, looking for answers like the balls that drop to form the winning number in a lottery? To view God as a kind of gumball dispenser is as wrong as considering prayer as a waste of time because God has predetermined the future. When William Carey prepared to leave England in order to proclaim the gospel in India, he was told by some elders: “Young man, if God had wanted to save the heathen in India, he could certainly do it without the likes of you or us.”
Praise the Lord that William Carey did not allow a negative response by others to keep him from obeying the Lord’s command to go into all the world and make disciples. After reading Philip Yancey’s book entitled “Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?” this week, I was reminded that, as the apostle Paul wrote, “we are God’s fellow-workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9). What a privilege we have, as children of God, to be partners with the One who created the universe and us.
Something unusual happened the other day. I was looking for two cards that were missing when Karen suggested that I look in the sofa. After removing staples that held the protective material under the seats, I stretched my arm and grasped several items, including two nickels (so now I can’t say that I don’t have two nickels to rub together) and a bracelet that our daughter had been missing for months. An hour later, I thought of another place to look for the cards and sure enough, there they were! If we hadn’t been looking for the cards, we wouldn’t have found the bracelet.
Philip Yancey explores the subject of prayer in great depth, observing that “the New Testament presents prayer as a weapon in a prolonged struggle. Jesus’ parables on prayer show a widow pestering a judge and a man pounding on his neighbor’s door. After painting a picture of the Christian as a soldier outfitted with the ‘full armor of God,’ Paul gives four direct commands to pray … As with physical exercise, much of the benefit of prayer comes as a result of consistency, the simple act of showing up.” May we be found faithful in prayer and in service to our wonderful Lord!
Thought for the weekend: “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” – William Carey
In His grace,
Steve