What If His People Prayed?

"What if the armies of the LORD1

Picked up and dusted off their swords?2

Vowed to set the captive free?3

And not let Satan have one more...4

...Took a stand upon God's promise5

And stormed Hell's rusty gates!!!6

WHAT IF HIS PEOPLE PRAYED?!"7

Wow, I found my favorite Christian band I think ;O). Casting Crowns, their name is, and if you haven't heard them you need to! But this song got me to thinking, what if we just said screw discrimination and started praying at meals, no matter where we are? Or thanked God everytime something good happened to us, put our absolute trust in him no matter what, stopped trying to rely on ourselves for everything? 8

The little petty things would fade, maybe not disappear completely because God tells us there'll be problems in our lives. It's his way of tempering us. We should be flattered, I think, when problems come our way, because God never gives us more than we can handle. It's His promise, and He never breaks His promises. So really, when He sends us tons of problems, He's behind us whispering "I know you can handle this...make me proud, little daughter..." or little son, whatever "...It'll all be over soon..." and we do come out tougher when it is over. We're better equipped to handle our problems later, and better equipped to help OTHERS with their problems. 9

It's a little like that trust fall people do at camp, where everyone lines up on two sides and one person falls back from a very high distance and expects them to catch him/her. God expects us to trust him to catch us, and he always does, he catches us and sets us on our feet, pats us on the head, and rewards us for a job well done even if it seems to take longer than it should.10

I always said I was lucky, most everything just naturally falls into place for me (usually). But now I realize it was God bringing Christmas a little early. Everything I love (and sometimes take for granted), my new house, my family and friends, my intelligence, the feeling of being liked and loved and wanted, all these are gifts from Him! Gifts from an almighty being who didn't hesitate to suffer his entire life for people he knew would hate and snub him and spit on his grace day after day after day for thousands of years, and all that just because he wanted to save them. It's like the worst breakup you've ever had, all the loneliness and pain you've ever felt, multiplied by 10 to the One Billionth power. Let me tell you, Jesus knows problems. 11

SO I challenge you, all my dearest friends and whoever else may be reading, the next time you feel alone and unattractive, or abandoned, helpless, whatever, read back over all your online diary notes. Read the signatures in your yearbook. Walk through your dorm or around campus or around your hometown and see how many times you're greeted with joy or excitement or maybe even just a simple hello and a smile. Call a friend or your family, and notice how happy they are to hear from you. Remember Jesus's words as he hung on a rough, splintery cross, blinded by the blood falling into his eyes from a wreath of spikes jammed into his head with a wooden staff, slowly suffocating to death with the nerves of his wrists and feet on fire, remember that he said this for US "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do..." i.e. 'Don't punish them Father, even though they're killing me, because I love them so...More than my own life...'12

"Worthy is the lamb, to recieve honor and praise, power and glory, forever and ever..."13

*AMEN* 14