Tuesday, February 19, 2013

In Everything...

Philippians 4:6

Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (Holman Christian Standard)

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (New Living Translation)
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A lot of people - myself included - tend to think of prayer as something reserved for big needs, for times of trouble. But it's not just big things that cause us to worry. We fret about all kinds of things, don't we? About whether we'll make it to our destination on time, what we'll make for dinner, how we're going to dress for that night out, and so on. All sorts of small, normal things that we just take in stride as part of everyday life.

They certainly are in our everyday, but does that mean we don't have to pray about them? Or that God doesn't care about those small details? A good leader values communication, and a good father loves to hear from his kids. If you're stressing out over what to make for dinner, don't you think he wants to be part of that? To help give you peace, and maybe even some unexpected ideas?

And for those of you who are like me and don't really understand the phenomenon of prayer, think of it this way. By bringing all your concerns, big or small, to God, you are at the very least reminding yourself of his constant involvement in your life. When those concerns are resolved, take time to thank him! Just because we don't understand what prayer is doesn't mean it isn't effective in at least helping us keep God involved in our lives. (I do believe prayer does something more than the obvious psychological effects, I just don't understand how or why. That's a separate topic.)

When I was closing up at work the other day, I could feel the sniffles I'd had the whole day not going away. Instead, they were turning into something more sinister: a cold. I hate being sick, but more than that, I hate the idea of having to call in sick, forcing my managers to find someone last-minute. So there I was, sweeping the floor, worrying about whether I was going to get sick or not. And it occurred to me that this was under God's purview. I felt kind of silly, praying about not getting sick, but I did it anyway. I got sick anyway, and called in sick to work. I prayed again, this time asking him to just make it go away. When the tide turned in my body and I could tell my immune system was winning out (and I could breathe easy again), I was relieved. Later, I remembered to thank him. Even though I did get sick, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and it gave me a reason to take a true rest day.

This is my point with the story: Even if he had no hand in it other than creating my immune system, he still deserves the thanks. And this is my point with bringing everything to God in prayer, big and small: God wants to hear it like a loving parent wants to hear about their kid's day, and he wants you to realize that he's always there, in everything.

Behind the Curtain: The Other Story

My previous post was an exercise in acknowledging all of the space I'm in. The fact that I have some consistent themes to my internal (a...