Perceptions #200043

"Dear God, Bless Bill, Amen"

by Jim Howard
holmesroad@netten.net

Recently I came across a cartoon picturing a preacher getting ready to meet someone on the street. The preacher is thinking,

"Oh, no! Here comes Bill, I promised to pray for him! Dear Lord, bless Bill. Amen."

"Hi Bill, I've been praying for you."

As we passed the cartoon around the staff, we all agreed that if it had not been so terribly indicting, if we had not all been there, the cartoon would have been hilarious.

There are at least two lessons in this cartoon. First, you and I should be people of our word. If someone respects us enough to ask our help in prayer, by all means we should be faithful in honoring that request. This should be done even if it means making a note in our daytimer or some other conspicuous place to help our memory.

Second, if prayer is our number one most powerful divinely-given resource, it would seem almost sacrilegious to treat something so holy so flippantly. When the apostle Paul admonished us to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), I believe he was encouraging qualitative as well as quantitative prayer. He was saying that our communication with our Heavenly Father should be intense, fervent and ongoing. Let's get serious about availing ourselves of this avenue to a Triumphant Life!

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