"Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think - according to the power that works in you. To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
I spent a lot of time as a kid in our yard playing football alone. We didn't have any neighborhood kids to play with and my brother was six and a half years younger than me. I would pretend to play quarterback and throw the ball to imaginary receivers. I copied the plays that I watched on Sundays (and sadly, complete with commentary). I would sometimes be Dan Marino and sometimes John Elway. While I enjoyed it (because I loved the game), there were a lot of days that I wanted so badly just to have someone to throw the ball to. Someone who would run a route and I could fire the ball to. My dad worked a lot, he had to in order to provide for us, so when he came in from work he wasn't really in the mood to toss the pigskin. Quite often I would look to the sky and just ask God for someone to play with. As I got older, I got away from that routine and settled to just watch the game on television (lets face it, you kind of outgrow the whole pretending thing, or at least some folks do...). However, I never forgot those fall and winter days in the yard or those moments that I looked up at the blue sky and hoped.
Now flash forward to this past weekend. Much has changed since those days. I have a family of my own now. God has blessed me with a wife who is my best friend and partner in ministry. I have three wonderful kids that I pray God will use to change the world for Him. We had made a visit to my dad's house for Father's Day. It was a fairly typical visit, a lot of laughs and of course food (always have to have that!). We were sitting on the front porch talking when my kids asked to play a game of football. Then they coaxed my dad to come out and play (amazing at the power grandkids have huh?). We started playing and I went back to pass and my dad started running at me. He was actually trying to sack me. I ran around and then tried to throw the ball to my youngest son. In that moment, I was a kid again. Only this time, I actually had players on the field with me. God had answered my prayer. 31 years later and in a way that I would never expect - He answered.
What a joy it is to know that we have a God who listens to and answers prayer. The Bible tells us so much about prayer, but it seems that to many Christians it remains a mysterious discipline. We read again and again in the Scriptures how people cried out and God answered. We are told to "watch and pray" and to "pray without ceasing" and "continue in prayer." How amazing is it that God wants to hear from us? That He wants to hear the cries of our hearts? I have said a lot of prayers in my lifetime. Some have been answered in the way I asked and some have been answered in ways that I didn't ask for. One thing is for certain: God is faithful. Last weekend I learned this lesson once again. He answered the prayer of a little kid in an unbelievable way. Have you spoken to your Father in heaven today? He is always listening.
