I prayed and it happened: Part 1

C.S. Lewis reminds me that I need to think in this manner when it comes to prayer: I prayed, and it happened. In other words I need to report on the bare facts and know that correlation does not imply causation. I can't get all wrapped up in the "Was I the only one praying for this?" or "What if I hadn't prayed....would I have gotten the same result?" I know God has a million reasons for everything that happens, and I know that I was not the only one praying for the service in this circumstance, and that I may never know all of the everything I want to know about last Sunday night but....

We have been studying prayer and I have been confessing that I do not pray anywhere near as often as I should for much of anything. I used to pray quite a bit on my ride into work so I decided to resurrect that last week. I prayed for my boys and wife as they embarked on another day of homeschooling. I prayed for the teaching that I would be delivering that week and for hearts that would be receptive to God's Word. I prayed that I would be diligent at work and a decent image of God.

 I was struggling all week with what I was going to preach on Sunday night at the Monroe County Jail. I wasn't sure if it was going to be more related to a Christ follower with a sprinkling of the gospel message or the other way around. I even asked my boys what they would teach and they had some good answers for me. Well, in the midst of my lesson preparation, when I was about three quarters done with what I thought I would teach, I decided to listen to some songs from Twila Paris' True North album. It is, in my opinion, her best and the song Daughter of Grace came on. I instantly knew that was going to be the content of my message.

 I later determined that Luke 15, the parable of the Prodigal Son, was going to to be the text that I was going to use and was thrilled at how closely the song and the text dovetailed. The message flowed very freely from there and I was in business. I had it all noted out and ready for any last-minute preparation on Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

 So, I prayed and God chose to cease the struggle concerning what I was going to present that night. Not a clear linking of events, but a report on what happened nonetheless. But that wasn't the coolest thing that happened...not by a long shot.

Comments

  1. PatriciaJanuary 22, 2014 at 3:21 PM

    Way to leave us hanging!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark DudleyJanuary 22, 2014 at 3:30 PM

      ...or set you up for a giant anti-climax. Either way Part 2 will have to be read. Sorry, Patricia.

      Delete

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