Think of the worst wifi you have ever connected to. Now make the connection 10x worse.
Welcome to the World Race.
With the epidemic of terrible wifi affecting World Racers everywhere, we have learned to adapt. We know that only one person can be on FaceTime at a time. We know that, most of the time, you have to connect to audio instead of video. We know that we are bound for trouble on our off days when everyone and their mom is trying to stream Netflix.
Though we have learned, there are still things we have not quite mastered, such as implementing the aforementioned rules of wifi usage and trying to get people on the other line to hear us better.
Those instances usually go a little something like this:
Me: “hey can you hear me?”
*30 second delay*
them: “sorry, it cut out. What did you say?”
*30 second delay*
me, a little bit louder: “hi. Ya. I said “can you hear me?”
*30 second delay*
them: “what?”
me, yelling: “CAN YOU HEAR ME?”
Note: they can never hear me. Why? Because the volume of my voice is never going to fix the connection.
I am not by any means aiming to simplify the complexity of the creator of the universe as to compare Him to wifi, but I have noticed a similar trend in ministry and our personal walks with God.
One notable experience occurred at a prison I visited recently. The first Thursday of every month, some 200 plus men and women from various churches in the greater Cape Town area visit a correctional facility to do prayer walks. This particular evening, we were in the women’s building singing, praying, and speaking life over these women.
If I am being completely honest, the task can get quite overwhelming when you shove hundreds of zealous believers and prayer warriors, who tend to pray quite loudly (welcome to Africa), I might add, in an enclosed environment. So, if it is overwhelming for me, I can’t imagine how overwhelming it must be for those women.
I found myself thinking “If only we could actually sit down and talk to them. If only we could hear their stories. If only we could encourage them in a more personal setting that God can turn their past struggles into their message because He is the God of second chances. If only we could tell them that when we are on His team, the best is yet to come.”
As we paraded through the dark halls, in the midst of my “if only’s,” I felt a stirring in my spirit. I was reminded of this simple, yet profound truth from the Lord: “I am here.”
He is the one who is here and who was here and who will always be here.
He is the peace in the tempest.
He is the whisper to our souls that is louder than the most deafening rolls of thunder.
What I’m getting at here is this: the volume of our voices lifted up in one accord may not have been enough to mend the connection between those women and God, but the One we were lifting our voices up to, in faith, is. Our God hears our cries, however loud or quiet they may be, and He whispers back, “I am here.”
He is the answer to prayer that solves all of my “if only’s.” Just because I couldn’t sit and talk with them doesn’t mean He can’t. He knows their stories. His word is the greatest encouragement anyone could ever receive. He is the ultimate life giver; He is the Prince of peace; He is the lover of our souls. Nothing we can bring could ever compare to Him, for Psalms 113:5 asks “Who is like the Lord our God?” So, if we cannot compare to God, why would we EVER think that something is impossible just because we can’t do it on our own?
The power of prayer is REAL, people!! I have no doubt in my mind that the women in that correctional facility were touched by God that night because of His people’s cries. I believe with everything in me that our God is the God of the impossible.
He gave Sarah and Abraham, who were “good as dead,” a son; He made Joseph second in command; He parted the Red Sea; He made the wall of Jericho fall; He helped David defeat Goliath; He claimed victory for Gideon. He raised the dead, healed the terminally ill, calmed the sea, fed the 5000, made the blind man see, and rose from the grave, defeating sin and death forever.
If you needed proof, there it is. The Bible is chock-full of stories of God making impossible things possible. Our faith then, is in a God who moves both literal and figurative mountains. Our prayer life should reflect that faith.
We should be lifting people up in serious prayer because we know that our God is the one who can heal the sick, mend broken relationships, and give peace to the hurting. We should be presenting our requests, big and small, to Him because we know He cares for our every need (Phil. 4:19). We should be praying without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17); may each prayer we pray start with “and.” We should be lifting our impossible situations up to the Lord because just when we begin to think it’s over, He comes through.
Questions to ponder:
Is my faith reflected well or poorly in my prayer life? When crisis hits, am I turning to God first? What would happen to my life if my prayer life changed? How much more in tune would I be with the Spirit’s leading if I actually “prayed without ceasing?” Am I praying just to pray, or am I praying bold prayers to a God that I know hears me and answers my prayers?
