sitting, waiting, wishing...
The Lord knows that this world is cruel
I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool... -J. Johnson
I think the one thing that really struck me in this chapter was the section on where God will say "slow!" when the timing is wrong for a prayer to be granted. The request is justified, but because of circumstances that one or a group may face at a given moment, the tangible results can't happen right then and there. We definitely find ourselves living in a society that's overwhelmingly slanted towards the concept of instant gratification, and when things don't go their way, many people seem to have a tendency to sulk and wallow in a whirlpool of internalized anger and frustration. Impatience seems to be a sinister default trait of being an imperfect race, whereas patience seems to be a heavenly virtue.
It's not my intention to denigrate the idea of prayer as I offer up the following analogy (and some of you may even roll your eyes and playfully smirk the suggestion) but I'd have to say it has similarities to the game of poker, specifically in the tournament form. After lengthy durations of not getting cards and/or after some onerous bad beats, many folks start to get fidgety / finicky, and end up haphazardly throwing all their chips in out of their frustration in an ill-timed situation when they didn't really need to. They essentially lost their patience and discipline, and let their emotions cloud correct judgment, leading them to be prematurely knocked out. I've played in numerous tourneys this past year, and I've seen the same individuals consistently finish at the final table and in the money. And I don't think it's any coincidence that it's those people that appear to be the most patient, disciplined and faithful. And it's those very traits that seem to be paramount in a bountiful cornucopia of a fruitful prayer life.
I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool... -J. Johnson
I think the one thing that really struck me in this chapter was the section on where God will say "slow!" when the timing is wrong for a prayer to be granted. The request is justified, but because of circumstances that one or a group may face at a given moment, the tangible results can't happen right then and there. We definitely find ourselves living in a society that's overwhelmingly slanted towards the concept of instant gratification, and when things don't go their way, many people seem to have a tendency to sulk and wallow in a whirlpool of internalized anger and frustration. Impatience seems to be a sinister default trait of being an imperfect race, whereas patience seems to be a heavenly virtue.
It's not my intention to denigrate the idea of prayer as I offer up the following analogy (and some of you may even roll your eyes and playfully smirk the suggestion) but I'd have to say it has similarities to the game of poker, specifically in the tournament form. After lengthy durations of not getting cards and/or after some onerous bad beats, many folks start to get fidgety / finicky, and end up haphazardly throwing all their chips in out of their frustration in an ill-timed situation when they didn't really need to. They essentially lost their patience and discipline, and let their emotions cloud correct judgment, leading them to be prematurely knocked out. I've played in numerous tourneys this past year, and I've seen the same individuals consistently finish at the final table and in the money. And I don't think it's any coincidence that it's those people that appear to be the most patient, disciplined and faithful. And it's those very traits that seem to be paramount in a bountiful cornucopia of a fruitful prayer life.
posted by Reg @ 8:24 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home