Lately prayer has been an even bigger part of my day. As many of you know, we had a family emergency last week that almost caused us to lose our daughter-in-law. She had been sick for a few days but it wasn’t getting better. Finally, my son took his wife to the emergency room and they rushed her to the ICU. Needless to say, that evening was a very tense one. To keep our mind focused, we constantly had to remind ourselves in prayer that God was with her.
Because of the shutdown of our world, my son couldn’t even be with her to hold her hand. He couldn’t be in the room at her side or do anything you count on doing if your loved one goes to the hospital. Naturally, we fell on prayer and that was what sustained us. From the first call from my crying son, we prayed together, something we hadn’t done since our days of bedside prayer when he was young. In the end, we had to place all of our trust in God to pull her through. I am more than happy to report that she is doing much better, but she has a long recovery ahead of her.
Some of the best advice I have ever received concerned prayer and the way that we do them. So, often in our prayers, all we can muster is “Please Lord!” A better and more faithful prayer replaces that with a “Thank You, Lord!” I’m not saying that please Lord is wrong, but the Lord, in His Word, constantly reminds us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). He wishes for us to put our full faith and trust in Him. That was all we had when we waited for word on our daughter-in-law. It turns out, it was all we needed.
A promise was made in Psalm 37:4-6 that says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” Trusting the Lord with all your heart means that your will matches His. If we delight in the Lord and trust Him in all things, our hearts will match and His desires will become our desires. This isn’t saying that if we trust the Lord enough we’ll get all that the world holds dear. This is no prosperity Gospel. It means that when our wills match with God’s, every prayer can be a thank you. Romans 8:28, And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
As a church this is of the utmost importance. As we make plans to gather together once again, we have to trust in the fact that God is leading us. Our decisions must be governed by prayer. Our goal as a church will be to match the will of God, taking great caution in assembling once again, but without fear. Just like my son, we look forward to the day that we can be together in spirit and in body, but until then, we lean on prayers of thank you that God is doing what only He has the wisdom to do. Psalm 9:10, And those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” Let us put our full faith and trust in our Creator in such a way that our will matches His will. God’s got this! Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, You have been so faithful even when we have lost ourselves too often in worry and fret. Help us to trust in You in such a way that our prayers turn to thank you’s. Help us to trust in Your timing, Your leadership and in Your care. Remind us of Your love and keep us on the narrow path. Amen.
