I don’t know if like me you hate having to make contact with companies? Especially at this time, pointing out how long you are now going to wait due to COVID-19 even though they say that your call is important to them!
Then comes the really frustrating part. You then receive a list that is accompanied by a number that you press. If you think you are then there you’ll be bitterly disappointed. Why? Because there is another list coming and then another one! Finally, when you get to the part where there are no more lists you are then kept hanging on. The whole experience is not good. I do not blame any particular company. For me, they’re all much the same.
Isn’t it good to know we do not have a God like that? Can you imagine if He did; imagine praying and hearing this:
“Thank you for calling My Father’s House. Please select one of the following options:
Press 1 for request
Press 2 for thanksgiving
Press 3 for complaints
Press 4 for all other inquiries
Your call is important to us. Hold the line as all the angels are helping other customers right now. Your call will be answered in the order it was received. For creation answers please wait till you arrive. Our opening hours are…”
Nonsense, you might say and I agree. Yet when such access is available why is it so rarely used?
Look at the quotes below. The first one is for my congregation!!
If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.
Anon
The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God’s standing challenge, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!”
J. Hudson Taylor
Five young college students were spending a Sunday in London, so they went to hear the famed C.H. Spurgeon preach. While waiting for the doors to open, the students were greeted by a man who asked, “Gentlemen, let me show you around. Would you like to see the heating plant of this church?” They were not particularly interested, for it was a hot day in July. But they didn’t want to offend the stranger, so they consented.
The young men were taken down a stairway, a door was quietly opened, and their guide whispered, “This is our heating plant.” Surprised, the students saw 700 people bowed in prayer, seeking a blessing on the service that was soon to begin in the auditorium above. Softly closing the door, the gentleman then introduced himself. It was none other than Charles Spurgeon.
Can I encourage you, as we end this week, about two things that I believe are important when we are serious about prayer? There are many, many others.
- You are having a conversation with God; “Call to me and I will answer you.”
- You are using a powerful weapon; “I’ll tell you marvellous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.”
Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvellous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.
Jeremiah 33:3
Finally, let me encourage you with a quote from Max Lucado.
God is not a mountain guru only involved in the mystical and spiritual. The same hand that guides your soul gives food for your body. The One Who clothes you in goodness is the same One Who clothes you in cloth. In the school of life, God is both the teacher and the cook. He provides fire for the heart and food for the stomach. Your eternal salvation and your evening meal come from the same hand.
Max Lucado
I hope this week I have encouraged you to pick up the phone. On the website, there is a prayer diary that will help you to pray more effectively.
Stay Safe and Blessed