“Will You Pray About it?”
“Will You Pray About It?”
“‘…We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.’” 2 Chronicles 20:12d (RSV)
I was being asked to serve in an area of the church in which I had no interest, no skill and even less time to commit. This activity was never on my radar, much less on my “someday I’d like to…” list. But I had been asked the one question we (virtually) can never say no to: “Will you pray about it?”
Would I pray about it. The request put me between “a rock and a hard place” (as my mother use to say). I agreed to pray.
Before I left the fellowship hall I began developing my list of “reasons I shouldn’t even consider” accepting. I remembered Moses at the burning bush: his list was good; mine was better.
I began to pray. I started with, “Lord, help me to want hear You, to discern your will. (I know mine).” I prayed and fasted; I knew I’d never quiet my review of “reasons why I should say no” long enough to hear the Lord’s still small voice without fasting. I also read my Bible looking for a verse that “spoke” to me, something that would give direction.
About day three the Lord lead me to 1 Chronicles 28:9 and 10 “…know…God…and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind…. Take heed now, for the Lord has chosen you ….”. (RSV) Ugh. Not the answer I was looking for. But since the words seemed to “leap” off the page they couldn’t be ignored. I highlighted the words especially “Take heed…” In fact, I highlighted them so vigorously I wondered if the color had bleed through to the other side.
It had. Highlighted on the next page were the words “good courage.” The verse, 1 Chronicles 28:20, read (in part): “‘Be strong and of good courage and do it. Fear not, be not dismayed; for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.” (RSV)
Okay. Well…I got my answer. I would be obedient. What I didn’t know was that our Father had some great blessings in store for me, blessings I would not have realized if I hadn’t chosen to pray, be obedient, and trust Him.
Father, never let me miss an opportunity to trust You, to seek Your wisdom, Your will – especially when I know what I want the answer to be.
