Monday Morning Devotion-March 8, 2021
Deep Fried Prayers
Lord teach us to pray! Luke 11:4
*Prayer help from a past devotion.
I have to share this story with you. It is just too incredible not to pass on. Yes, it is another one of those Mark Batterson stories from "Draw the Circle,' that amazing book that is just chock full of life lessons passed on to us by this committed pastor. It comes from this book that is well worth putting on your bookshelf and pulling down often for inspiration.
A phrase I have used many, many times over the years is "God Nods." Those occur in times when God is trying to get our attention and sends some information our way, not by hitting us over the head with a bold proclamation, but a simple occurrence that directs us.
This may simply be a thought that pops into our mind at an unexpected moment or a person that chances our way, maybe even a stranger, who inspires or informs us. Could be a book we pick up from a bookstore shelf and start reading or as happens many, many times we read a verse of scripture that zaps us right between the eyes. All of those God-directed messages are best saved for another devotion at another time.
This story is almost too big to even be considered a God nod, it is a major revelation that leaves no doubt as to Who is in control.
Batterson writes: "A few years ago, I heard author Ken Gaub share one of the most amazing prayer testimonies I've ever heard. He and his family were driving on I-75 near Dayton, Ohio, when they decided to stop at a restaurant. Ken's wife and children went right into the restaurant while he stretched his legs. As he walked past a nearby gas station, he heard a pay phone ringing. The phone kept ringing, and Ken thought it might be some sort of emergency, so he answered it. He heard the voice of an operator, who said, 'Long Distance for Ken Gaub:
Ken almost passed out. He said, 'You've got to be kidding me. I was just walking in the middle of nowhere and heard this phone ringing,' The confused operator said, 'Is Ken Gaub there?' After making sure there weren't any candid cameras around, he said, 'This is Ken Gaub."
A voice on the other side of the line said, 'Mr Gaub, my name is Millie. I'm from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You don't know me, but I need your help.' She went on to explain that she had just written a suicide note but had decided to give prayer one more shot. She said, 'God, I don't really want to do this! And as she prayed, she remembered seeing Ken Gaub on television. She thought to herself, 'If I could just talk with him, he could help me.' But this was pre-Google, making it extremely difficult to track him down. As she prayed, some numbers popped into her head, and she wrote them on a piece of paper. She couldn't help but think, 'wouldn't it be wonderful if God were giving me Ken's number?' Then Millie said, 'I decided to try calling the number and I couldn't believe it when the operator said it was you.
Millie asked Ken, 'Are you in your office?' When Ken said no, Millie sounded surprised. She said, 'Then where are you?" Ken said, "You made the call, don't you know?' She said, 'I don't even know what area I'm calling. I just dialed the number on a piece of paper.'
'Ken said, 'You won't believe this. I'm in a phone booth in Dayton, Ohio.' Millie replied, 'What are you doing there? Ken replied, 'Answering a pay phone.' "
Now is that a huge God Nod or what? Actually, it has to be classified as much more than a God Nod. It was a miracle! That little miracle conveyed the message to Millie that life is worth living and God had plans for her. Big enough plans that he had her chase down a pay phone in another state to get that message.
You never know when or where or how God will invade the routine of your life.
Batterson talked of hearing a 76-year old African American preacher praying at an Easter Prayer Breakfast at the White House. This preacher had served alongside Martin Luther King Jr. His prayer was so moving he referred to it as a prayer that was "deep-fried in the faithfulness of God."
There were about 200 religious leaders there that day. When that pastor finished praying Batterson said he turned to Andy Stanley who was sitting next to him and said: "I feel like I've never prayed before."
The disciples felt the same way, they heard the deep and moving prayers that Jesus offered up. One time, after he finished praying, one of the disciples said to him. "Lord, teach us to pray."
From that moment comes the prayer we lift up as a model prayer because it came straight from Jesus. We call it the "Lord's Prayer." The hallmarks of that prayer are that it honors the Heavenly Father first. It asks for the immediate blessing of daily bread. Not for the future but for God to be with us, right then, that day in time.
Forgiveness is a major part of that model prayer. Asking God's forgiveness for us and promising to forgive others.
Thinking about how we pray can play a major role in our lives. Batterson says: "If we change the way we pray, everything changes. It changes the way we work, the way we parent, and the way we lead. It changes the way we prioritize and strategize. It changes the way we think, the way we feel, and the way we speak. Prayer changes everything from the inside out."
Are you offering up deep-fried prayers? Wisdom is knowing how much you don't know. Just like the disciples, when you recognize that and ask God to teach you, then you begin to grow.
God wants to hear your voice, your words, your praise. A greeting card relationship with God is not enough.
Prayer is the difference between the best we can do, and the best God can do. So, consider how to elevate your prayers from cold cut to deep fried status. The blessings will be yours.
Prayer: Lord help us to pray deeply, in faith and with passion so that our prayers are the best we can offer up to You. Amen