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Praise Requests
I was watching the local news the other night; I think it went something like this: Murder on 6th street, rape on 3rd, weather sucked today, more sucky weather tomorrow, and well, nobody won the lottery.
I can’t say it surprised me. The news is always bad. Unfortunately, that in itself is what makes it news. How weird would it be if the news went something like this: Steve got a job promotion, Sara gave birth to a beautiful boy, the sun is shining, it will shine tomorrow, and well, EVERYBODY won the lottery. Hmm…that almost sounds refreshing.
It kind of reminds me of the emails I get, or actual letters and phone calls. I call them prayer requests because; well…that’s what they are.
I’m not saying prayer request are bad, and I must admit first hand I recently sent out a request myself, but I have begun to see a pattern. I get a phone call from a friend who says his grandmother recently came down with cancer; a letter from another that says her family has recently come upon financial struggles, and an email that says a buddy just lost a job.
I do pray for them. I pray that God gives them strength, patience and understanding in the face of struggle. I don’t pray that God takes away the cancer, blesses the family with money, or gets my buddy his job back. Does that make me terrible?
Ask anybody who has a relationship with Christ and they’ll most likely tell you they believe that everything happens for a reason, that God has our lives planned out for us. Wouldn’t that mean then, that if we all gather together and pray against the bad things that happen in life that we’re all just raising a big stink against God’s plans?
Now that sounds completely heartless and I have to say, I’m not evil. I do have a heart, and I care about my friends, their families and the struggles they face, especially sicknesses.
But I do wonder…
I wonder if God’s looking down on us saying, “Geez, get over it already!” We probably remind Him of the Israelites on their way out of Egypt; complaining all the time because life wasn’t easy for them, forgetting the miracles, and blessings they received over and over and over again.
I wonder how frustrating that can be. It’s probably much like parents providing for their child who complains because he has to eat macaroni and cheese, AGAIN? How weird or refreshing would it be if the child were to say, “Thanks mom and dad for this macaroni, I am so blessed to have food on the table.”
How weird would it be to get a phone call from a friend, “Hey buddy, can you praise God for me tonight, because I just got a job promotion.” Or an email that says, “Everybody praise God, Jon just met a wonderful woman.” I call them praise requests because; well…that’s what they are.
I know that many people do praise God for such things. We do so in our own prayers. We thank God for the blessings we’ve received, but how often do we share it with others? How often do we try to get a band together to praise God for such wonderful things He’s blessed us with? Not often. Not often enough.
I imagine the smile we might be able to put on Gods face if instead He looked down on a bunch of children praising His work. I wonder if He would then bless us with more, as if we deserved it.
I encourage you to send out an email of praise. Make a phone call. Write a letter, do something! Let’s all praise God together! He deserves our praise much more than we deserve His blessings.
