If Only
I was in a small group of men and women yesterday and we stood in a circle to pray. Now remember, I’m a geek and probably over think everything, so I had realized a long time ago that men and women default to holding their hands differently. My experience, and it probably isn't statistically credible, is that men offer their hands facing back and women offer their hands facing forward when standing in a circle to pray.
To me, it’s a little awkward holding another guy’s hand, not because it’s a guy, but because one of us quickly has to swap hand positions from what would otherwise be a default grasp (I’ve also noticed that women’s hands are softer than guys but that is a different discussion). To be fair, I’ve found a few people who don’t follow my observed patterns and even a smaller number who can switch easily. I figure this is more akin to being ambidextrous.
But back to the story, we were standing to pray and my wife, who while being more experienced in my eccentricities than most and who I thought hadn’t had this same observation asked me to shift to the right. She explained that her default grasp was facing forward and the person on her left and me could accommodate that grasp.
While that is funny, one of the other members made the comment of “wouldn’t it be nice if this was our most pressing problem.” What a great way of getting our hearts and minds ready to pray to our almighty God!
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” - James 5:13-16 ESV
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:4-7
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” - Psalm 23:1-6
The next time you are about to pray, try to put your circumstances into perspective with other problems in the world. I can almost assure you that two things will happen. First, you will find you have a whole lot more to pray about. Second, you will likely feel better about your own struggles.
