When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with
Him to come and heal his servant. —Luke 7:3
Would you pray for my sister?" the burly worker asked awkwardly. I eyed him
suspiciously.
Months earlier, muggy August heat intensified emotions in the pre-strike
atmosphere of the assembly plant where I was working that summer. Managers
drove production at a frenzied pace and union members resisted. During
breaks, we were coached by union officials on slowing down our output. My
faith and idealism got me in the doghouse because I didn't think God would
accept anything but my best effort. I naively tried to explain.
My co-workers' response was harassment, and this burly worker asking for
prayer had been the ringleader. An undesirable task? I got the assignment.
Off-color jokes had me as the star.
So now I greeted this prayer request with suspicion. "Why me?" His answer
jarred me: "Because she's got cancer," he said gruffly, "and I need someone
God will hear." The bitter rancor between us eased as I prayed for his
sister.
Like the centurion in Luke 7, people in the storms of life don't waste time
or mince words. They go directly to the people whose faith they've tagged
as real. We need to be those people. Do our lives mark us as a go-to person
in touch with God? —Randy Kilgore
www.odb.org
Keep the Faith!
Until next time,
~E
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