“Father, I stretch my hands to Thee, no other help I know; if Thou withdraw Thyself from me, ah! Whither shall I go?” (Hymn by Charles Wesley
Either I was not paying attention, or I don’t recall being told the importance of stretching prior to any athletic event during my high school days. We just ran laps, many of them; a multiple number of them; a multifarious number of them! Often as you can tell by my description, in my opinion that the mandated number of laps we ran was way too many. It’s not like nowadays. Back in the day, if we stretched, it was a post-pain reflex, accompanied with a prayer, “Help me Jesus!” Today, stretching prior to games is stressed and if you see any pre-game show, you notice athletes stretching in ways that we once thought could only be done by individuals who had great flexibility or the talent of The Great Stretching Man” at the state fair or carnival. The stretching I see, well it seems painful, but it is beneficial. Yes, it takes time, but it is time that pays off. Stretching is vital to the success of any athlete as it relates to their individual performance, and consequently their team’s performance.
When you read the lyrics above in the place where I usually put our opening verse(s), you probably remember the pre-“Praise Team” days, where the Deacons would lead devotion. Sometimes the devotion was like a half-hour service, a mini worship service that preceded the Order of Worship service written in the bulleting. If you recall those days, surely you thought about how long the Deacons could stretch out the words to that song. “Father,” “Faaaa-aaaaa-ther -er.” It was not just a quick two syllable word, but it was as indicated, an elongated pronunciation with a changing of tone, pitch, cadence, and volume. Much like stretching in sports, I did not really get what we were being taught, but we were being taught something, unbeknownst to the Deacon, something that would benefit us individually and the church as a whole.
For you see today, I recognize before writing a word, before typing one letter, on these early mornings, I need to stretch my hands to God and call on the sure help that will empower me and lead me in performing this aspect of my ministry. And listen, the days that I forget to start with “the stretch” of my hands; the days where I just jump into the work, my task is much harder.
I implore you and instruct you to make sure you start your day with “the stretch;” stretching, seriously and sincerely reaching out to our Sovereign Father in heaven through prayer. Look! No matter what you will face today, or any day that you do “the stretch,” you will find your day to be better. You may go down weak momentarily, but get up off your knees strong. You will go down as if in agony, but you will rise up, fully animated by power from on high. Your patience will be greater! Your witness will play out better! Individually, you will benefit, but in a greater sense, the whole team, the universal church will be better! Time for you to stretch now as you start the day, and if you find it necessary, you can do “the stretch” all during the day. As a matter of fact, I’m convinced that we will need to more than once, and you and me will realize that there is power in prayer. Be blessed!
“Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.” (James 5:17-18 NLT)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King