Prayer

A pastor had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc.  The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and drove away, the tree would bend down and he could reach up and get the kitten.

He did all this, checking his progress in the car frequently, then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would bend enough for him to reach the kitten.  But as he moved a little further forward, the rope broke.  The tree went “boing!” and the kitten instantly sailed through the air — out of sight.  The pastor felt terrible.  He walked all over the neighbourhood asking people if they’d seen a little kitten.  No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten.

So he prayed, “Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,” and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members.

He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food.  Now this woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, “Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?”  She replied, “You won’t believe this,” and told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing.

Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, “Well if God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.”  She told the pastor, “I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won’t believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the clear blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.” 

That little girl certainly had her prayers answered in a unique way! (LOL) 

It’s Monday and we need a little humour!

Although an important part of prayer is intercession, we know that there is so much more. Prayer is coming to God through His Son Jesus Christ, in the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, to literally grow in His knowledge, love and grace.  It is like a potter and the clay.  We are putting ourselves into the hands of our Heavenly Father and He is lovingly molding us and transforming us into the likeness of His Son.  I agree with Philipp Yancey, “Prayer is the act of seeing reality from God’s point of view.” Jesus encouraged His disciples to pray in the context that would allow that dynamic to transpire.  He said, “Our Father in Heaven hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  (Matthew 6:9-10 NIV)

Prayer reflects our own unique journey with God: our special  life experiences, our personalities, our reflection and interaction with His word and our corporate journey with others.  Don’t try and mimic others and don’t get all hung up if it doesn’t fit someone else’s expectations.  God is much bigger than that!  Simply come – He loves you and wants to hear from you today.  And P.S. watch out if you pray for a cat!

Stay safe and may His love encourage you – Pastor Ralph