Yesterday, I was scheduled to pray to open up the Quad State Legislative Conference. This is a group of legislators from
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia who gather each year to discuss issues that affect our region, especially the Interstate 81 corridor which connects all four states. The meeting was held in Martinsburg, West Virginia, about a 25-minute drive from my house.
I had thought through what I might pray for when I got there. I usually thank the Lord for public servants who serve as ministers for the good of the people, pray for them personally including their families, pray for their spiritual lives and ask for godly wisdom as they make decisions for their constituents. I left the house at the time I had planned. Everything was right on schedule until I hit Tuscarora Pike, which was closed.
Now you have to understand where I live. There is a mountain between my house and Martinsburg, so when you encounter a closed road, your options are limited. I was halfway up the mountain when I saw the sign, so after backtracking, finding another way and getting behind a rather slow driver, I lost 40 minutes.
I was going to call a legislator on his cell phone to let him know I was running behind, but for the only time I can remember, my phone just had a black screen. It was fine earlier that morning and was fine when I finally got to the meeting, but was dead when I needed to call someone before the meeting started.
Then I went to the wrong floor of the hotel and couldn’t find the meeting room for a few minutes. When I did arrive, the welcome was being delivered and I wasn’t called on to pray. I had to leave after about an hour. Like I said, it was a bad day.
I asked the Lord “why” a lot yesterday. Why the delays? Why the frustration? Why the opposition? Why was Satan so intent on making me late? After all, it was just a prayer.
It was just a prayer.
As soon as I thought it, I was ashamed. Did that sentence really show what I think about prayer? I call people to pray for their leaders constantly. Deep down, do I really consider prayer something so small that it’s unworthy of satanic opposition?
Oswald Chambers said, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.”
So there’s the confession of my fleshly thought and the rebuke I gratefully received. May we not handle prayer as an insignificant thing.
And please keep praying for your leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
July 21, 2011 at 12:21 pm
When we know what the battle is about and know where the battlelines are drawn, why are we surprised when the devil and his minions interfear with our good intentions??? You are not alone friend… It happens to us all.. Misplaced keys and phones are a wonderful plaything for the ‘ole boy downstairs’!!! Starters that don’t work and tires that go flat for no reason are easy targets also…
I too am quilty about thinking little of prayer at times… People on FB are always asking for it, and I do take the time to pray for their request then turn right around and wonder what good it did… I so easily forget that at that moment the prayer was being heard in Heaven by the Father from the Son who intercedes for me!! What a glorious event!! Sometimes we just have to be reminded..
July 21, 2011 at 7:23 pm
Thank you so much for sharing. You are not alone. Loved the quote from Chambers… just need to make it my practice and not just a nice thought.
July 21, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Thanks, Brent. It takes a tough man to make a tender and open sharing. It makes us (me anyway) all think twice about reacting to a situation instead of simply laying it at our Lord’s feet; “Lord I want to be that living sacrifice I promised you several years ago, holy, AND acceptable to You…” C’mon ‘reasonable service’!
July 23, 2011 at 10:34 am
Been there, done that, got convicted, too. Thanks for the good reminders and great quote from Oswald Chambers!
July 26, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Ironically, Brent, I had the same type of encounter with prayer a few weeks ago. Scott Darling (onemillionpraying.org) had lunch with Steve Catlett’s (The Lunch Bunch), and was showing signs of frustration as people often
say they’ll pray daily for something, but after a few days, it wears off. I was convicted also, and fortunately, I had been working through Tom Harmon’s book on “Prayer”, it is available on-line at tdharmon.com. As I worked through the book, I saw how much I was missing in my prayer life.. I have now incorporated my ACTS (or CATS) acronym into a new outline using Tom Harmon’s book as a prayer. My prayer list is a lot longer now, but what a difference it has made! I feel like I am really praying again! Nothing worse than saying you’ll pray for somebody/someone/something, and then not put it definitively on your daily list. Perhaps this will help you too, my brother in Christ. Jon and Viv
August 24, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Thanks for that good word, Jon. I need all the encouragement I can get for my prayer life!