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"Prayer should be our first response, not our last resort."


A thought by Michael Todd, from his book, Crazy Faith. (p. 38). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

Prayer can and will make all the difference in whatever we are facing.


Michael continues, "Too often, however, people turn to God only when they’re at the end of their ropes or when something earth-shattering happens. This was my routine for years, praying only when I was in trouble or on trial. Can you identify? In the weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, church attendance in the US surged as much as 24 percent. Online attendance at church services and Google searches for faith-based subjects skyrocketed after the whole world shut down in 2020 due to a global pandemic. Don’t get me wrong: in those times, it was necessary to pray. But I would much rather we intercede when something is in infancy than wait until it becomes enormous."

He says, "Practically speaking, there’s nothing wrong with NyQuil or Tylenol, but when was the last time you acknowledged God first and prayed about your headache instead of reaching into the medicine cabinet? Everyone wants to get together and pray when John has a heart attack and is having emergency surgery. And again, that is definitely the right time to pray. But it’s also the right time to acknowledge God and pray when you’re hiring a new receptionist for your office. It’s also the right time to acknowledge God and pray when you and your wife have an argument on the way home from the store. It’s also the right time to acknowledge God and pray when you’re doing your makeup in the morning and you wish your eyebrows would grow so you wouldn’t have to fill them in so much. It’s also the right time to acknowledge God and pray whenever you think about praying! What I’m trying to say is, it’s always the right time to pray. If it’s important to you, it’s important to God."

He goes on, "Jesus said it Himself. It’s in red print and everything. You can pray for anything. If you want to have Crazy Faith, it’s time for you to stop discounting the things that call for baby faith. You’re hoping for God to one day make you a philanthropist who pays off college tuitions and donates millions to charitable organizations, but you won’t give God 10 percent of your retail-store paycheck right now. CEO status starts with the baby step of taking care of what you have now."

He then says, "Yes, God can elevate you, expand your influence, and enlarge your impact, but He wants to see you trust Him right where you are first, before He takes you somewhere else. That’s called stewardship: simply recognizing that He’s the true owner and originator of everything, while we’re the ones who enjoy and take care of it all. Maybe it’s His grace that is keeping you at level 1 until you learn the lessons necessary to help sustain you at level 10. There’s nothing wrong with learning lessons at a low level. Crazy Faith develops as a result of consistently working your baby faith."

That is very good stuff, isn't it? Yes, yes! #continuethought


 




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