Skip to main content

Waiting on the Lord

            Harold Hackett, a 58 year old man from Prince Edward Island, has an interesting hobby.  Over the past fifteen years, he has tossed more than 5 000 “messages-in-a-bottle” into the Gulf of the St. Lawrence with hopes that they will make their way to the Atlantic Ocean.  He has since received about 3100 responses from people in places like Iceland, the U.K., the Netherlands, France, Germany, and as far away as Africa and South America.  One bottle even made it to the Pacific Ocean, somehow landing in San Francisco.  Recently, he received a reply from one of the first bottles that he threw overboard.  It took fifteen years for the bottle to wash ashore, to be found and then responded to and that is what makes it interesting to him.  You never know how long it will take or from where you will receive your response.

            Upon hearing that story, someone pointed out to me that tossing bottles in the ocean is somewhat similar to what we experience when we pray.  Our prayers, like Harold’s bottles, have specific ideas and messages in them.  Once the prayer is “thrown overboard” we wait.  We have no control over where the reply will come from or how long it will take to be received.  Sometimes it may take years for us to receive the answer or to see the blessings of the circumstance. 

            That, thankfully, is where the similarity ends, though.  You see, our prayers take a much more direct path than do Harold’s messages.  While the bottles aimlessly float around the ocean until they happen to be found, we are assured that our prayers are not only heard, but are acted upon. 

            About prayer, Jesus says, “Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10).

            Even more importantly, our prayers are not only directed to God, but they are supplemented by Christ and the Holy Spirit.  “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (Romans 8:26).   To “intercede” means to “to plead on another’s behalf” and that is what the Holy Spirit and Jesus do for us.  “Christ Jesus… is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:34). 

It may take a while and we may not always get the answer that we want, but be assured that prayer is worth the effort. 

God always hears and always responds.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Consider This: What is so Great About Grace?

If you were to drive by our house, you would see that Sara loves plants.  Our yard is full of flowers, and Sara lovingly tends every one of them. Which is why I was so afraid when she left town and put me in charge of keeping things alive. She must have been a little concerned, too, because she sent me two videos with specific instructions on how to water, when to water, and what to do.  Honestly, those first two videos helped, but the third one she sent was the one I liked most.  In that one, she said, “Please do your best. I want the yard to look good for the family reunion in two weeks.  However, if something dies, we will dig it out and pretend that it never existed!” That is what grace looks like!  Try your best, do what you can, but if it goes wrong, it will be ok. Sometimes we talk as though grace and effort are opposites.  That is not true.  They are partners. In one place, scripture asks, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone c...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: Thanksgiving in Real Time

                    Thanksgiving weekend means that many of us will spend time together with family and friends, eat a lot of food and think about what we are thankful for in our lives.   Unfortunately, after that, most will go back to their normal routines and leave thankfulness behind.                   What would happen if thanksgiving were part of our everyday life, rather than something we focused on a few times per year?   Where would we even start?                 According to Philippians 1:18-26, the apostle Paul remained joyful and thankful, even while imprisoned for his faith, by holding on to three important practic...
Post a Comment
Read more

Do You See the Angel?

          In the gospels, the story of Jesus’ birth is preceded by the prediction of the birth of “John the Baptist”.              John’s father, Zechariah, was a priest at the temple in Jerusalem.   One day, while he was burning incense to God, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John” (Luke 1:13).               This was surprising news to Zechariah and so he asks, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years” (verse 18).   That is a logical question, right?   I mean, he is asking for a sign so that he can believe something that seems quite unbelievable.   Who would fault him for that?        ...
Post a Comment
Read more