DAY OF PRAYER

The other evening, while I was playing a very hard round of singles tennis against Dong, my favorite trainer, I decided to, umm, invite God into my game.

I was serving for the set, and was ahead 5 games to 4, and the game score was 40-30. One more point and I’d win the set. As I was positioning myself on the service line, I whispered a short prayer, saying, “Please Lord, help me ace this serve.”

Now I must let you know that the ad side is my favorite service side, and I often deliver a good service ace on this side. And Dong knows that.

I stepped up to serve, bounced the ball a few times, and then tossed the ball up, and swung to serve. The ball sped to where I wanted it to, but Dong anticipated it and easily returned my serve. I ran to retrieve his return and drove the ball across and far away from him. He scrambled and skillfully parried my topspin, placing the ball right where I was waiting for it.   I drew my racket back, so confident that I would hit a winner yet I lost eye contact with the ball, didn’t hit it squarely, and the ball struck the net cord. I groaned thinking that I lost the point.   But, lo and behold, when the ball struck the net cord, it had enough momentum to plop over on to Dong’s court, and I won the point, game, and set!

Or maybe I should say, God won it for me. Not in the way I had prayed, but in the way that only He could do. God declares in Isa 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” Totoo nga naman, ano? I prayed for an ace, which I had executed masterfully often, but instead, God demonstrated that I would be victorious (despite my blunder) not by my might, nor by my power, but by His spirit.

Why do I share this?  And what does it have to do with a “day of prayer”?  What comes to my mind is Proverbs 16:9 which says,

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” (NIV) 

Many of my friends take time at the start of the year to spend a day in prayer, and to dedicate the coming year to the Lord. They experience great joy in sitting before the Lord and discerning His will for them especially at this time of the year.   It’s as good a time as any, and it helps them psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually “turn a page”, “go back into the deep” and cast their nets once again.   

If you’re one of those who are poised to do this, or if you’d like to give it a try, I pray that God manifest His holy will clearly to you.

I don’t know exactly what life situation or key decisions you are facing this 2020. Maybe you need to make a career or a business decision, a program for your ministry, or deal once and for all with relational or family issues. Or maybe you desire to develop certain disciplines to change your character, improve your health, or hone your skills. Or maybe you are anxious and waiting for favorable outcomes on something that you’ve been dealing with since last year (or maybe even farther back than that). And, naturally, as you spend a day of prayer with the Lord, these matters will be on your prayer agenda.

What Prov 16:9 teaches us is that no matter how well intended we are, and how well prepared we are to deal with our life situations, we ought to include the Lord in our decisions and our plans — not just to seek His help so you can fulfill YOUR plans — but because He is the Lord of your life, and you seek to do His will.

During your day of prayer, you need to be prepared to hear God tell you something that He’s been telling you, and not just you, but all of mankind. That is His “universal will”. At first it may not seem like it has anything to do with your specific issue or concern, but if you’ve been remiss in fulfilling what God asks of everyone, how do you suppose He will respond to your request for a specific direction tailor-made for you and your situation?

If, at the end of the day, that is all you will hear from God, hang on to it, and take it seriously. Consider yourself blessed already, knowing that God has been patient with you, and is ready to give you another chance to do His will.

It is also possible that God will speak to you something that will seem like it strikes at the root of your specific concern. Reflect on that message, and test it against what you know of God, and what you know about yourself. Hopefully you have a godly friend who knows your situation and knows your desire to seek God’s will, and if so, be sure to share this specific message with him/her, and ask for a confirmation and godly advice.

Once you’ve concluded that you have heard from the Lord, determine to take the necessary steps to follow what the Lord says. Draw upon whatever resources and competences you have on hand, and even if your resources are limited, trust that God will fulfill His wonderful purposes.

Notice I said “His purpose”, and not “your purpose”. Again, that’s what Prov 16:9 says. We can make all sorts of plans, but it is God who will enable things to fall into place. After all, nothing in this world occurs without it being ultimately aligned with God’s sovereign purpose.

After having prayed about it, and as you dedicate everything that you do to pursue your goals to the Lord, what should you expect? Well, several outcomes are possible:  God may allow you to see the fruit of your labor producing exactly what you had intended and desired (like the friends who lowered the paralytic to be healed by Jesus).  Or He may use other means to produce the same result (my tennis experience).   But then again, you may not see the results that you hoped for, whether at the time you expect it, or maybe not ever at all — just like John the Baptist.  Or you may be taken by surprise and either encounter a deadly storm and get thrown overboard to be swallowed by a whale, or you would see the waters of the Red Sea part before your very eyes. 

But no matter what the outcome (intermediate or final), you need to trust that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose”. (Rom 8:28)  In all things. And by trusting God in all things, no matter the outcome, you will experience the fullness of joy that He promises.

As you abide in Jesus along your journey through 2020, may the Good Shepherd smile on you and lead you to calm waters and green pastures. The Lord be with you, my friend. Mahal ka ng Diyos.

Here’s a follow on post to help you with the specifics on HOW TO SPEND A FULL DAY IN PRAYER.

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