Prayer shaming: a newly minted phrase igniting sparks while it illuminates different opinions. While the phrase itself might be new, it really just illustrates that questioning the effectiveness of prayer, and the power of the one true God, isn’t new at all.

 

Prayer, as well as any other words, can be useless platitudes or a methodology of force that rearranges the very essence of created beings.

 

 

Whoever is a believer in Christ

is a new creation.

The old way of living

has disappeared.

A new way of living

has come into existence.

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

 

Violence is evidence of a heart that needs change; and true change is always going to be an issue between two hearts—God’s and mine. People will be forever divided in opinion, but God is never confused by current events or surprised by our blustering words.

 

 

“Surely you must realize what I

and the other kings of Assyria

before me have done

to all the people of the earth!

Were any of the gods

of those nations

able to rescue their people

from my power?

 

Which of their gods

was able to rescue its people

from the destructive power

of my predecessors?

What makes you think your God

can rescue you from me?

 

Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you!

Don’t let him fool you like this!

I say it again—

no god of any nation or kingdom

has ever yet been able

to rescue his people

from me or my ancestors.

How much less

will your God rescue you

from my power!”

 

And Sennacherib’s officers further mocked

the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah,

heaping insult upon insult.

 

The king also sent letters scorning the Lord,

the God of Israel.

He wrote, “Just as the gods

of all the other nations

failed to rescue their people from my power,

so the God of Hezekiah will also fail.”

2 Chronicles 32:13-17

I won’t spoil the story by giving away the ending, but will say that it didn’t turn out well for King Sennacherib.

 

Faith Cora has selected “Chair Leaf” as the name for her new baby brother arriving in February. She chose it all by herself and is solidly settled on it; so now Day and I, but not mommy—because she just shakes her head at us—refer to the still-hidden and growing little guy as Chair Leaf.

 

I’d love to know how she came up with the name. It’d be fascinating to eavesdrop on the thoughts she processed and weeded through in order to select Chair Leaf. It makes me wonder if she likes the way the words sound or if she visualizes the objects and likes how they look. I asked her about it yesterday and she said that Mommy and Day couldn’t agree on a name for her brother so she chose one. That’s actually the cleaned up version because what she really said (and I have it on video) was that they were in a restaurant and Day said “Billy Earl” and Mommy spit at him.

 

We love inserting big new words into her “lexicon” and she readily tells people that she’s a “widdle wing-wist” (little linguist). She and I were having brunch in iHOP the other day and, after finishing her pancakes and bacon, she entertained herself by getting down under our table. A very nice lady, seated all of two feet away from us, asked Faith if she were a puppy dog or kitty cat. Faith looked up at her and said, “I’m a wing-wist”. Moments like that make me very proud to be her Mama Jan.

 

So in spite of not being able to eavesdrop on her thinking, and not really knowing how she processes her thoughts, I sure do love and enjoy spending time with her.

 

It makes me wonder how much more the Lord, who knows everything there is to know about me, enjoys spending time with me and blesses me when we’re together.

 

O Lord, you have examined my heart

and know everything about me.

 

You know when I sit down or stand up.

You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

 

You see me when I travel

and when I rest at home.

You know everything I do.

 

You know what I am going to say

even before I say it, Lord.

 

You go before me and follow me.

You place your hand of blessing on my head.

 

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand!

 

Psalm 139:1-6