Series: Renewal
I Peter 5:7 ESV
Mark 11:22-25 ESV
I love writing.
Even in elementary school I loved writing assignments. I did not love math. Ever. (But that’s another story for another day.)
When I was young if someone gave me a piece of paper and told me to fill it with something creative, I’d write a story and give it a tiny picture.
When I was given a math assignment, my first reaction was to cry. I’m not sure why, but math has always been a great source of anxiety.
I Peter 5:7 says, “cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
Now…before you go thinking math is a terribly silly reason to be anxious, because anxiety should be saved for important matters like world peace or feeding the hungry people of the world, I would beg to differ.
Here’s the reason why…I do NOT believe that God only deals with the big issues in life.
I used to quiz my da about that very thing.
I’d ask him what kinds of things I could pray about. He would look at me with his “da” look and he’d ask me, “what are you thinking about right now that you don’t know how to solve it?”
Because I was very young my answer probably have been something like, “well, I lost one of Barbies pink shoes and I’ve been looking for it. I’m afraid Smoky (our miniature poodle) might have found it and chewed it up and swallowed it.”
Da would smile.
He would say, “then let’s pray that you’ll find the shoe.”
Then I’d ask, “but what if we don’t find it?”
His reply was always, “God will supply your need.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I believed my da.
Then he would pray with me and tell me to listen and wait for God. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but what I do remember is that I’d either find Barbies pink shoe or I’d stop being anxious about the lost shoe because I forgot about it.
Through the years, my issues gradually moved from losing Barbies pink shoe to being anxious about things that were age appropriate.
For example, when I went into sixth grade we were told there was going to be an election for class officers. I’m not sure why, but I really wanted to be one of the officers.
When I told my dad about it, he said we should pray about it. He always said, “don’t worry about it…just pray.”
As I recall I ran for President of my class and I lost. We had to give a speech and the person who won gave a great speech.
When something disappointing would happen I would tell my Da and he would remind me to pray about it. After I lost I told da I wanted to learn how to give a great speech.
We prayed about it.
For the next few years (in junior high school) I took Speech Class and my da helped me learn how to give a great speech. I didn’t run for class officer again in junior high.
By the time I was in high school, da told me it was time to run for class officer. I did run, and I won.
Speech and especially debate became my focus and in college and I majored in Speech Communication. In graduate school I continued to study in argumentation (in Seminary that’s called apologetics) and speaking (preaching).
I have to think all of that happened because we (me and da) prayed that God would help me.
I do NOT think it was an accident that I majored in Speech in college. Where I went to college (University of Missouri, Columbia) the hardest class I took was Argumentation and Debate. The professor who taught that class was known for being freakishly hard (especially when he graded our arguments). I worked harder (and prayed harder) than I’ve worked on any class in college or in graduate school. I learned how to formulate an argument.
It turns out it’s an interesting skill to have.
So is praying…
Mark 11:22-25 tells us, “And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Giving a speech, and making a great argument was my mountain. God supplied the solution.
Spiritual Practice: What’s Your Mountain?
Ask God to provide the solution.
In God, Deborah
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