The old time pastor was galloping down the road, rushing to get to church on time. Suddenly his horse stumbled and pitched him to the ground. In the dirt with a broken leg, the pastor called out, "All you saints in Heaven, help me get up on my horse!" Then, with superhuman effort, he leaped onto the horse's back and fell off the other side. Once again on the ground, he called to Heaven, "All right, just half of you this time!"
Now there's a guy who knows how to pray. In the middle of great adversity he doesn't fade, but with confidence calls out. And keeps calling out.
In "Making wise investments" columnist Linda Wegner says:
In her book, Streams in the Desert, Volume 2, Mrs. Charles Cowman wrote of the astonishing returns resulting from regular investments of prayer. She notes that Jonah did plenty of praying while in the belly of the fish and Daniel was "prayed up" before his feet hit the bottom of the lions' den.just two examples of "investors" whose service then yielded powerful results. Cowman adds a quote from S.D. Gordon that really caught my eye: "The real victory in all service is won in secret beforehand by prayer. Service is gathering up the results."
We should have so much confidence in the prayers we say that we give immediate thanks to God for his having heard them. Wegner goes on to say, "For guaranteed spiritual returns, invest heavily in prayer then watch your service yield results worth waiting for."
The storm and the boat come to mind in Mark 4:35-41. The howling wind and lashing waves terrify the disciples who see Jesus walking on the water toward them. He wasn't just out for a stroll. He wanted to be with them in their troubles. They had but to ask.
"I am with you always," Jesus says in Matthew 28:28. We are never alone on that boat or in that tempest. When we are in trouble physically, mentally, emotionally, financially or any other "lys" we need to call out. Struggling with your spouse, child, parent or whatever; have you called out to Jesus?
I conclude with a reference to Van Rheenen's "Theology of Power", in which he says: "Prayer should never be understood primarily in terms of power but rather as relating to God who is the source of all power." As Christians we call out to a sovereign God and wait for him to act in his own time.
We join in the triumphal resurrection of Jesus Christ over evil and death by standing firm in Christ's mighty power, by accepting God's victory through Christ and by allowing God's redemptive power to work through Christ and through us.
