PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING

Prayer does change things! Growing up I was surrounded with people who were "prayer warriors." They literally prayed about EVERYTHING. They believed that God answered prayer and that He listened to the prayers of His kids. Jan's Mom, and mine, both taught us from early on that we could talk to the Lord about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Some of the things we prayed about were BIG things -- some were LITTLE things -- kid things. Back then it didn't make sense, but it has shaped the way we pray today.

With our kids, we have tried to do the same thing. We have prayed for lost hamsters, keys for the car that we couldn't find, sick pets, sick friends. And our kids will often talk about ways they saw God answer their prayers. And I love to hear children pray because they don't get wrapped up with all the jargon and flowery phrases -- they come to the Lord with the heart of a child.

One of my dearest mentors and friends, Pastor Newton Conant, now with the Lord, was a man who prayed with the heart of a child, yet was not afraid to take ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING to God in prayer. I remember one day calling him for counsel on a particular issue and asking him to pray that God would reveal His will. His response? He put the phone down and was gone for 10 minutes. I couldn't figure out what he was doing -- he was praying! After he was done, he picked up the receiver and shared what I needed to do. It was truly amazing.

Yesterday one of our staff men came into my office distraught because he lost his car keys. He wanted to know if he could borrow a car if he couldn't find his keys. I suggested to him that we stop and ask the Lord to direct him to his keys, and thanked the Lord for answering our prayer. I told him that I would rejoice with him with the answer when it came. I am not sure if he thought I was crazy, but he said, "OK -- when I find them, I will come and share it with you." Five minutes later he came back to tell me that he found his keys! Praise the Lord.

God is interested in EVERY detail of your life, my friend. He is into BIG things -- like running the universe. But He's also into minutia -- He knows the stars by name. He knows when each sparrow falls. He knows YOUR name. He cares for YOU and delights in YOUR childlike faith.

"Call to ME and I will answer YOU. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own!" (Jeremiah 33:3 -- from THE MESSAGE)

So what's on your heart today? Concerns? Problems? Take it to HIM in prayer.