NAGGING God in Prayer

Do we think God has short term memory loss?

James 5:16 tells us of the power of the prayer of "a righteous man". We pray for those we know are in need of more help than we can offer. Intercessory prayer is not only powerful but it feels good to have done. Yet, if we truly believed that our prayer was heard then why do we repeat the prayer again the next day? Do we feel that asking for the same thing again and again will finally nag God into doing our bidding?

No. We ask repeatedly because we know that He has all the power. We ask repeatedly because we have short term memory loss. We want to keep reminding Him because we can't see the progress. It's like watching grass grow sometimes. We want patience and we want it NOW.

We ask more often when it is something completely out of our hands. When a loved one is sick we pray repeatedly. When someone is lost we pray repeatedly. It is said that volunteers for Habitat for Humanities projects routinely use far more nails than needed to do the job. It's because they can't bring themselves to believe that only a few nails will hold. More experienced carpenters know how many nails to use - a form of faith learned through trial and error.God doesn't have short term memory problems. We don't have short term memory problems. What we have is the insecurity of the Habitat volunteers. If one prayer will do then thousands will do faster. Faith, often gained through experience, teaches us that God heard it the first time and that the answer will come in HIS time. So arise from prayer with a smile not a frown. Know that you have turned all over to the only power in the universe capable of doing all.

Wilk

Getting away TO it all

Matthew 18:2-5 - 2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

At this time of year most of us, Pastors included, get into the annual frenzy of activity that has come to characterize the Christmas season. Normally we wouldn't think of December as a good time to put our lives on hold, leave the comfort of our homes and families and drive hundreds of miles to volunteer to work in a warehouse so that children the world over could get a shoebox sized present. But that is exactly what 7 of us (the perfect number) from Downsville have done.

We are currently wrapping up two full days of volunteering for Samaritan's Purse in the Operation Christmas Child processing center in Charlotte, NC. The physical work, though great for the body (thank God for anti-inflamatory medicines!!), pales beside the work of the LORD through these small packages. These shoeboxes come from all over the US to go to children all over the world.

This has been a truly humbling and uplifting experience. That was to be expected. What has been unexpected is that this simple plan - volunteer for a couple of days - has been a chance to get away from the hectic to the awesome! Awesome is a word many use to describe everything from pizza to cars but we, as Christians, know that the word awesome can only truly describe the presence and the work of the LORD.

By humbling ourselves like children, the scriptures tell us that we will become "the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." That isn't why I am doing this. I am doing this because - "... whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."

By leaving work, home and our hectic schedules - something most people refer to as getting away FROM it all I discover that I have actually gotten away TO it all. I have broken free from the hectic demands of the Christmas season to return to the true "Reason For The Season". Each and every one of the thousands of shoeboxes I touched in the past 2 days have been an opportunity to welcome "a little child" in His Name. Each and every one of the thousands of shoeboxes I touched in the past 2 days have been and opportunity to welcome Him! Each and every one of the thousands of shoeboxes I touched have taken me away TO it all!

Wilkie Nunn
Pastor
Downsville Church of the Brethren