People pray when they’re in trouble. When catastrophe hits. When the diagnosis is terrible. When the relationship is about to collapse. When the pressures of life become too great to bear.
I suppose it’s human nature to run to God when there’s nothing and no one who can help. We’ve been hearing weekly reports coming from Ukraine of a man who was working in Christian ministry before Russia invaded and is now in the military leading a platoon. In addition to sharing the needs they have, he is also sharing the many opportunities he is having as people are running to God for help. He says many soldiers are asking him to pray for them. It sounds as though he is preaching and teaching more than ever!
Yes, when we’re in trouble we run to God. That’s a smart thing and a good thing to do. But what about when we’re not in trouble? Shouldn’t we talk to God about the little things and even the good things? The Bible instructs us to never quit praying. To be in regular and, even constant communication with our Creator. The Bible encourages us to pray about the details in our lives.
Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
I think one of the things we miss is that God cares about the details of our lives. He wants to be involved. When we allow Him to be, He makes all the difference. Prayer changes things!
Several years ago I got a real wake-up call about praying through the details. I had reserved a plane ticket and rental car to travel from Florida to Wisconsin for a funeral. The funeral was scheduled for 1:00 pm on a weekday. So I booked my ticket accordingly. I would be flying from Tampa to Chicago O’hare, picking up my rental car, and then driving north to Wisconsin for the service.
I know O’hare. I knew the details of the route north. So long as the flight landed on time and things went smooth getting the rental car and there wasn’t a traffic accident or major construction, I would arrive early enough to greet the family, give my condolences, listened to the message, and enjoy the fellowship following the service.
However the night before my flight, I discovered that somehow I had gotten the service time wrong. It wasn’t going to be a 1:00 pm. It was scheduled for 11:00 am! My window for the possibility of arriving on time was nearly closed. I called the airline and discover there was no earlier flight available. I did the calculating and determined that if everything went perfectly, I might only be 5 minutes late. No big deal. The family would understand that traveling that distance anyone could be late. But I hate being late for anything. I would especially hate walking into a funeral service late. I could picture everyone sitting quietly while I would try to open a squeaky church door without drawing attention. Then with everyone looking at me, I could see myself trying to slide into an empty seat…hopefully in the back row.
The night before leaving was the night of our Life Group. I shared the situation with the group and asked them all to pray. I said if everything goes perfectly, I might arrive shortly after 11:00 am. We prayed and they all agreed to pray the next morning.
I did what I could the next morning. I arrived at the airport early for my flight. I only brought a small carry-on bag. I got checked in, found my gate, and stood ready to board because I didn't want to cause any delays.
What transpired next still amazes me. When I boarded the plane a flight attendant said, “Good morning sir. There’s not going to be very many people on this flight, so you can sit anywhere you like.” I’ve noticed that on most flights, the person sitting in the first row, in the first seat, on the left side as you face the back of the plane is generally the first person to exit the plane. That’s where I sat. It’s a straight shot to the door.
Then wonder of all wonders. The pilot came on and said, “Folks there’s not very many taking this flight to Chicago this morning. Everyone is on board, so we’re going to take off a little early.” I couldn’t believe it! Take off early? I wanted to shout Y-E-E-E-S-S-S! And add…and LET’S FLY FAST! We departed 15 minutes early! This was huge. If everything else went smooth, I might make it to the funeral on time.
As we were flying I thought to myself of how many times I’d been on planes that had to wait for a gate to open up after we landed at the airport. With this plane taking off early and therefore arriving at a gate early, surely the gate wouldn’t be open when we arrived. I prayed. If God was going to get me on the front and fastest seat, and if He was going to get our plane out of Tampa early, I was sure He’d have the gate open when we arrived. God came through! The plane taxied to the gate and pulled right in. The jetway came up to the plane. The flight attendant opened the door. I shot out of that door like a thoroughbred leaving the gate on race day. The flight attendant must have thought I was in desperate need of a restroom, but I didn’t care.
I ran through the airport like I was running an obstacle course. I darted around people and baggage without any accidents…not even a close call. As I bolted out of the airport, knowing I still had a fairly long run to get to the car rental pickup curb, you’ll never guess what was right in front of me. The Enterprise Shuttle Van!!! I had booked my car with Enterprise! I waved down the driver. He slammed on the brakes, flung the door open, and shouted, “Hurry up, I’m not supposed to stop here.” I should have told him that he had to stop there because God was in charge. I jumped in the van and after one stop to get more customers, we were on our way to the rental cars.
If you’ve ever rented cars, especially at airports, you know how long you might be waiting for one. There are often long lines and very few people waiting on the customers. Then when you finally get there, they need your license, and insurance information and they will ask if you want more insurance, a toll thingy for the window, a refill of gas when returning, and who knows what else.
When we arrived I was able, without being pushy, to be the third person out of the van and into the rental facility. God came through again. When we walked in, I was so pleased to see four people behind computers waiting to provide us with their best service. I rush over to the third computer and told the young man that I was in a big hurry. I told him I was going to be late for a funeral…fortunately, not my own.
I threw my license and insurance card up the counter and told him that I didn’t need anything…not insurance, no map, no refuel when I returned. I said I just need the keys to a car and someone to point me in the direction of that car. I had never seen a person fly through the computer stuff as fast as he did to get the paperwork printed. He turned around and grabbed a car key. As he was turning back to me, he said, “I have a red Grand Prix. Is that ok?” I responded by saying, “Anything but red. I told you I’m late!” He turned back around, grabbed another key, and said, “Here’s a black one.” I said, “Great, and thank you so much for your fast work.”
I was on my way. Up Interstate 90. I had the coins all lined up the night before and was able to get through the toll booths without completely stopping as I threw change out the window in the neighborhood of the hoppers. I made excellent time up the interstate and into God’s country (Wisconsin).
God had made sure every detail went beyond perfect. I arrived at the funeral service at 10:30 am!
I discovered something that day that I knew all along. God cares about every single detail of our lives. We really do have a God that’s cheering for us.
As we are going through our daily lives we do things that, to us, might seem mundane. There’s no such thing from God’s perspective. He’s excited to be in the mundane with us. We need to seek His advice, His will, and His direction in every single decision we make. When we cease to pray, we tend to forget how much God cares and then we end up missing stuff because we arrive too late.
