“ON PERSISTENT PRAYER”
“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good.”
– Thessalonians 5:12-21
Lots of folks have been praying lately. The ending of one year and the beginning of the next will do that. Some praying more than others and others praying more than they used to. It is that time of the year… and over recent months people have been praying for certain outcomes… whether it be for good health, a job, a better job, a different job, for their candidate to win or some other candidate to lose and especially for that team you love the most to win the big bowl game! If the data is correct there will be 52 million Roman Catholics cheering on Notre Dame to win next Monday night as well as the millions more who don’t want Ohio State to win!
And then there are those I know who extend a short prayer to God in the morning for just waking up to a new day… as we all get only one day at a time, and we have no guarantee of the day’s contents or outcome… despite our plans…
Most of us know God answers our prayers… it takes time for us to realize that sometimes the answers are not always YES… but sometimes NO…. and over time we’ve learned that God says… “NOT YET” even… and as my old friend Ed often says… “Be careful what you ask God for… I prayed for patience and God gave me four children!”
My grandmother had cancer surgery in 1953. She prayed for good health daily and for a good life for all those around her. She died in 1982.
But… then there’s this… a story which goes back now a couple of decades… just before I moved to Pearland… when my friend and colleague… the Rev. Dr. Tom Morgan was diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of an egg. His speech was becoming muttered and confused. Tom’s wife began to notice as did Andy, his associate pastor on staff. He was soon told by the doctors… “If you do nothing… it is likely you will live 6 more weeks. If you have the surgery and do nothing more, you might live another 12-15 weeks and if you have the surgery and follow up with radiation and chemotherapy… you will probably live another year or so…” and as Tom was nearing retirement age… but not ready to do that… I asked him… “So… what did you tell the doctor?” Tom said… “well… I flipped him the bird and dropped an F bomb on him” … to which the doc said… “aren’t you a pastor?” Well… Tom was born in Montana… so what should the doctor expect?… to which Tom replied… “Yes, yes I am, and I don’t think you know anything about the power of prayer, and I certainly know you do not know I have an army of people in my life who will be praying a different picture than what you’ve described. The doctor backed away…. Tom had the surgery… he began radiation and chemo and lived another five years… with most of them really good years… and I went back to New Orleans for Tom’s funeral and rejoiced in the hope God gave him in baptism… to affirm the eternal life he was living here on earth in anticipation of the fullness of a heavenly glory we are promised in Christ Jesus.
Being persistent in prayer is good for us. God always has an answer… immediate or not… because as we pray, we stay connected to God and remain concerned about those for whom we pray. Good for us. Praying often. Faith matters!
The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Gigee is a long-time resident of Pearland, having pastored four churches over the last four decades in Texas and Louisiana. Read more following Brian’s blog ‘murmurings’ at https://briangigee.wordpress.com/. Send comments and/or questions to godworks247365@gmail.com.
