The living room is silent, despite being populated by a dozen people. Every head is down, every eye closed. A few guys get up from their comfy seats to lay hands on Bob, the man who just presented his prayer request. Finally, someone initiates intercession. This prayer is in line with Bob's request. It's short and sweet. More silence.
Then, a revelation comes to you, straight from heaven. You have something special, specific, and unexpected to pray concerning Bob. It's radical. Dang near prophetic.
It's a bit out of left field, but you don't let that stop you. You spill it out. Only problem is, you notice the silence. As you say out loud the things you are convinced God gave you (am I the only one who can no longer say "God laid this on my heart" with a straight face? I digress.), you cannot help but note that you don't hear anyone else agreeing with you.
Once you pick up on this, you feel awkward. If you don’t hear a “yes”, then that means that the prayer you are praying isn’t from God after all, and you’re probably surrounded right now by a bunch of disagreers. You know that if you were to open your eyes right now, they’d all be glaring at you, with a scowl on their face. But as we all know, opening your eyes during prayer is against a commandment or the Bill of Rights or something, so you have only your imagination to go by.
Oh, what you'd give for someone in the room to say "yes" to even one of the things that's coming out of your pie hole right now. If someone says "yes", then they are agreeing that your prayer really does come from God. It means you're not crazy. It's conclusive evidence that everyone in the entire room is on board with you and what you are praying on Bob's behalf. It says that you clearly have special insight into Bob's heart, and it validates you as a human being.
Ah, to hear the “yes.” It’s a goal worth pursuing. To not hear it would be devastating, and you'd pretty much want to crawl in a hole. But if you do hear “yes,” then your investment of prayer has been worth it. It's all about the "yes." It's the Holy Grail. I never occurs to you that you should hope for an answer to your prayer, and some help for Bob, more than you want that affirmation from the other people in the living room.
The "yes" is the thing. The fact that Bob's situation might actually be better as a result of all the prayer? Icing on the cake.
Then, a revelation comes to you, straight from heaven. You have something special, specific, and unexpected to pray concerning Bob. It's radical. Dang near prophetic.
It's a bit out of left field, but you don't let that stop you. You spill it out. Only problem is, you notice the silence. As you say out loud the things you are convinced God gave you (am I the only one who can no longer say "God laid this on my heart" with a straight face? I digress.), you cannot help but note that you don't hear anyone else agreeing with you.
Once you pick up on this, you feel awkward. If you don’t hear a “yes”, then that means that the prayer you are praying isn’t from God after all, and you’re probably surrounded right now by a bunch of disagreers. You know that if you were to open your eyes right now, they’d all be glaring at you, with a scowl on their face. But as we all know, opening your eyes during prayer is against a commandment or the Bill of Rights or something, so you have only your imagination to go by.
Oh, what you'd give for someone in the room to say "yes" to even one of the things that's coming out of your pie hole right now. If someone says "yes", then they are agreeing that your prayer really does come from God. It means you're not crazy. It's conclusive evidence that everyone in the entire room is on board with you and what you are praying on Bob's behalf. It says that you clearly have special insight into Bob's heart, and it validates you as a human being.
Ah, to hear the “yes.” It’s a goal worth pursuing. To not hear it would be devastating, and you'd pretty much want to crawl in a hole. But if you do hear “yes,” then your investment of prayer has been worth it. It's all about the "yes." It's the Holy Grail. I never occurs to you that you should hope for an answer to your prayer, and some help for Bob, more than you want that affirmation from the other people in the living room.
The "yes" is the thing. The fact that Bob's situation might actually be better as a result of all the prayer? Icing on the cake.
Comments
On a completely unrelated subject, I've decided on the quote for the inside cover of A Deceit to Die For. What do you think?
“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”
BLAISE PASCAL