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Monday, April 25, 2005
Divine Sleight of Hand
The psalm praises God for hearing a fervent prayer and answering it well.
Not exactly "We interrupt this program" bulletin fodder, is it? I mean, prayer assumes that God is interested in our joys and concerns, and will listen closely and answer us.
But bear with me.
I'm talking about Psalm 34:1-10, yesterday's sermon text. The superscription says King David wrote it.
"I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.... This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble."
What a great encouragement to trust in God, to turn our worries into prayers. No great eloquence required. Even a blurted out "Help, for God's sake!" will do if that's all you've got.
Someone has said, "Prayer moves the hand that moves the world." If so, then praying is an awesomely powerful act.
I've read reports of controlled studies in medical centers, where patients' health improved noticeably when someone prayed for them. Even when the patients didn't know about the prayers. Naturally, these studies have been challenged as scientifically marred. So be it. Coincidental answers to prayer don't worry me.
I've read other reports, from a small prayer group in our church. They list very specific answers to prayer during a year's worth of weekly prayer meetings:
*A new job here, a new house there.
*Volunteers stepping up to help an important project get going.
*Successful surgeries on some tired old bodies.
*A beloved dog healed.
*A shelter for women and children at risk stabilized by surprise funding.
But let's get back to David and that psalm.
The introduction to this song says he composed it after he acted crazy to get away from the guys threatening his life.
I love it! "I prayed... God answered... [by inspiring me to make believe I was nuts!]." It freaked out his enemies so much they turned and ran for shelter.
Across-the-miles answers to prayer are great attention grabbers. So are through-the-hospital-room-transom ones. But I believe most of our prayers get answered when we pay attention to what we can do about the problem.
You care enough for someone to say a prayer for them. That they'll be encouraged, say, in a difficult situation. After the "amen," you call them on the phone. Or you write to say you love them. You've answered your own prayer... or God has done it through you.
Not quite jumping around acting like a crazy king. Much better, though, don't you think?
The hand that moves the world turns out to be moving you.
posted by Jack Buckley at
3:17 PM
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