“On another Sabbath he was in the synagogue teaching, and a man was present whose right hand was deformed. The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched closely to see whether he would heal the man that day, since it was the Sabbath. For they were eager to find some charge to bring against him. How well he knew their thoughts! But he said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand here where everyone can see.” So he did. Then Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law, “I have a question for you. Is it right to do good on the Sabbath day, or to do harm? To save life, or to destroy it?” He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Reach out your hand.” And as he did, it became completely normal again. At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to plot his murder. One day soon afterwards he went out into the mountains to pray and prayed all night.” (Luke 6: 6-12 The Living Bible)
As had been the practice for years, the meal after church on Sunday is “the meal.” It is both lunch and dinner. You are on your own after the early afternoon meal. Hopefully, there are leftovers. But if there are not, you can do what I did this past Sunday. I went to pick up some chicken nuggets, a ten-piece and a small order of fries. I pull up to the drive-thru lane. A few cars are in front of me. Obviously, other people practice the Sunday dinner rule too. The line was not moving. I looked ahead at the car that had stopped to order through the two-way communication device near the posted menu. You know, the one where you don’t know what in the world are the first words that come out of the mouth of the cashier. You just heard something. I just guess they were asking me if I want the special. But since I don’t know, I always say, “No” and place my order. I diverted from the direction I was going with this story. Let me get back to it. The person parked in by the speaker had his door slightly opened and he was trying to order. His window was obviously not working. I’m guessing he could not be heard, because as we waited and watched in the stalled line of cars, he opened his door as far as it would get, just trying to place his order. Now I am no longer guessing. The man gets out of his car and stands in from of the speaker and places his order. Overcoming the obstacles, communicated with the person on the other end, got back in his car and drove on to pick up his order.
Let’s relate to this drive-thru story. Today, you will face all kind of obstacles that will try to prevent you from communicating with heaven, attempt to keep you from going to your place of prayer. You do have one, don’t you? Jesus got over the obstacles he had to face, and one day, soon afterwards, he went off to pray, in the passage above. Be like Jesus If you faced obstacles that interfered with your prayer time yesterday, whether internal or external obstacles, make sure you overcome your obstacles today, and go off to some place and pray. Jesus had some alone time with the Father. You need that alone time too. The man at the drive-thru window needed to communicate with the one on the other end of the speaker so he could get his provision, a Sunday after dinner snack. He obviously wanted it because he was persistent and overcame the obstacles presented by his non-functioning window. Be like Jesus and be like the man who was persistent in the true account above. Overcome your obstacles to praying, the impediments that will try to keep you from petitioning God to provide what you need. When you overcome the obstacles, you will get more than a “snack.” You will get something that will change things. For prayer changes things, even if that means changing is at times, in our situations. Listen! The Lord will hear you and give you exactly what you need. Have a tremendously, prayerful day! Be blessed!
“Before they call out, I’ll answer. Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard.” (Isaiah 65:24 The Message Bible)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King