“The only thing we can do is pray.”
How often have you heard that statement? How often have you uttered that statement?
Personally, I’ve heard it – and I’ve said it – countless times.
Lately in my life I’ve come to realize that there’s something amiss with this declaration. That fact was borne out recently when I attended the 27th Prayer and Spiritual Growth Workshop sponsored by the Calhoun Church of Christ.
If you read my most recent “Just A-Passing Through,” you know that this workshop spoke to me in a deeply personal way, so much so that I built my whole Oct. 17 column around it. The only thing was, I ran out of words before I ran out of things to say – and I promised I would be back this week with additional insights gathered at the event.
So why might “the only thing we can do is pray” be off-kilter?
My minster, Don Stevens, who was one of the workshop speakers, put it simply: “Prayer should be first.”
Yes, prayer should be the first thing we do when we’re caught in a dilemma, when our backs are against the proverbial wall, when all hope seems to be fading. The very first thing. I’m trying these days to remember that, but I must confess: I still want to utter those words at times (“the only thing we can do …”), but I try to stop myself. And I still often fail to faithfully approach our Father from the very get-go.
Yet we should never hesitate to go to God with our entreaties. “God waits for his children to speak,” Don said. “You cannot out-think or out-ask God.”
I found it interesting that Don’s explanation of God’s answers to our prayers differed a bit from what I’ve normally heard – and I liked the way it sounded. I’ve always heard that God can answer prayer in one of three ways: “Yes,” “Not now” or “No.” Don’s take on the situation is basically: “Yes,” “Later” or “That’s not what you need.”
That puts a little different spin on the situation. Not “no” – but “that’s not what you need.” What a wonderful way to express how much God loves us.
In my previous column I discussed several aspects of Jesus’ prayer time in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion. I’d like to add to that now. We saw last time how, even though Jesus’ earthly friends did not manage to support him while they were in the garden, God sent an angel to strengthen him at what was undoubtedly the second hardest part of his sojourn here on earth.
We looked at how this blessing to Jesus from God is often not noticed as we read the scripture – but, oh, how important it is. And how God will strengthen us, too, when we come to him in prayer. We looked at Jesus’ sweat falling as drops of blood to the ground as he prayed concerning the upcoming events that he knew were in the very near future. He knew the agony that he would face.
Here’s what I did not have room to say earlier: That’s why we need to volunteer to be his. He paid the blood, sweat and tears for us. We can say, “We know the one who made it through the garden, and he’ll help me – he’ll help you – to make it through, too.”
Finally, on a slightly Halloween-ish theme, although Don certainly didn’t present it that way, he did say, “Everyone is a corpse without Jesus.” But the good news is, you can get a transfusion from Christ. We can become new creatures, putting our old ways behind us and embarking on a new spiritual journey.
With Christ, God can do with us more than we can think or imagine.
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Sallie Rose Hollis lives in Ruston and retired from Louisiana Tech as an associate professor of journalism and the assistant director of the News Bureau. She can be contacted at sallierose@mail.com.
