Category Archives: Obedience

It’s foolproof.

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PrayerThis morning I spent an hour praying with two other women who believe passion- ately in prayer. I brought them up to date on Mary’s cancer, and then we talked about the best way to pray over her, since that isn’t always obvious. But one of them knew exactly how to summarize our scattered thoughts. “No matter what the situation is,” she said, “there’s one prayer that can never fail. It’s, ‘Thy will be done.’ ”

That foolproof prayer always gets God’s “yes.”

I don’t think the Lord minds if we make suggestions: “please eliminate all cancer cells within Mary… please extend her life by many years… please don’t allow her to suffer in any way…” But in the end, our bottom-line should always be, “Whatever you decide, Lord, we’ll line up behind that.”

As we prayed, a Sunday school chorus popped into my head:

God can do anything, anything, anything; God can do anything but fail.

A foolproof prayer and a God who can’t fail? It’s win-win. If there are any problems after that, they’re within us.

But what happens when someone we love is handed a diagnosis like Mary’s, and we hate the thought that such a thing might be God’s will? An excellent request for ourselves concerning our own praying, then, is to ask God to bring our human wills in line with his divine will. That may look good on paper, but oh, what a mouthful.

If I’m going to pray such a prayer and mean it, God’s answer is probably going to involve some serious emotional pain. But the only other choice is to be standing outside of his will for Mary. Might that then miss what he’s doing in her life and mine, too?

Sara Young, author of the book Jesus Calling writes short prayers plucked from Scripture’s promises using words Jesus might use with us. This morning my two friends and I read this:

“Entrust your loved ones to Me; release them into My protective care. They are much safer with Me than in your clinging hands. When you release them to Me, you are free to cling to My hand.” (from Genesis 22)

Our disconnect with that truth, however, is that God’s protective care may look nothing like our protective prayer. Though I haven’t been clinging to Mary physically, I’m definitely clinging emotionally, wanting to hold her close… just like always.

ClingingI think God is gently teaching me that he is the only one both of us ought to be clinging to. So, as painful as it is to pray it, may his will be done.

O God, “Your unfailing love is better than life itself. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.” (Psalm 63:3,8)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I’m thankful for another day of meaningful pursuits with church commitments and family fun.
  2. Thank you for continuing to pray for good sleep at night.

The Little Things

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Since Mary let it be known that her cancer has returned, she’s received an inbox full of emails and a mailbox full of snail mail. Her heart is being well fed by these kind messages.

Mary and son-in-law DrewThe other day she said, “It’s interesting what people are writing. Many are thanking me for helping them in ways I don’t even remember, little things that in the big picture don’t even matter. It’s stuff like bringing someone a cold drink or giving them a ride. Why people are thanking me for this kind of thing, I don’t know. It’s not even worth remembering.”

After we talked about it for a while, we concluded that maybe the little things really are the big things. For example, if we hope to do “big things for the Lord,” we might be missing the point of what he wants us to do. If Mary’s mail is any indication, little things can have a big impact.

I remember Mom experiencing the same thing. She was in her late eighties and had begun receiving calls and visits from long-ago Sunday school pupils who by then were middle-aged. The reason for their attention was always the same: each was taking a look-back at their lives, and Mom had factored in significantly. They were calling and visiting to acknowledge her and express gratitude.

“Thanks for being glad to see us whenever we came around. Those chocolate chip cookies you made were fabulous. And thanks for helping us decorate for the high school banquets each year.” Inevitably they listed “little things” that stuck out in their memories. And just like Mary, Mom didn’t remember most of them.

That’s the thing about any life well-lived. What he/she does by helping people is so second-nature, it goes unremembered. Being nice, thinking of others first, offering help, all become automatic and play out in a lifestyle that leaves a trail of blessings all along the way. Everyone sees it except the one doing the blessing.

As Mary’s mail attests, she is one of those unusual people. As for the rest of us standing on the sidelines watching, we’re learning that it’s the little things that really matter most.

“Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I’m thankful for today, a very full, very good Sunday.
  2. Please pray for the ability to take one day at a time and not look too far down the road; in other words, to be content with a flashlight, not a floodlight.

Conversation with God

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Crawling into bed in the wee hours last night, the only question I had was, “Lord, what should I think about all this, regarding Mary’s cancer?”

Though he didn’t answer right away, in the 6:00 AM hour he did. Before my eyes opened, he put a passage of Scripture into my mind that was resounding like the chimes in a Christmas concert. Over and over it came as God wanted to be sure I didn’t miss his answer to my question.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ( John 11:25-26)

Jesus was doing what he did throughout the Gospels, answering my question by asking one of his own. It didn’t take two seconds to answer, “Absolutely!” And that brief conversation, which took place before my head left the pillow, set the tone for today.

RejoiceAlthough the enemy of our souls, Satan, would like us to be despondent and despairing with the news of Mary’s cancer recurrence, yesterday she hung a banner over the upsetting news: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” And she plans to do that to the best of her ability.

The piece of God’s Word delivered to me this morning seemed to be God’s stamp of approval on Mary’s determination to handle her crisis his way. As she places her hand in his on each of the days he gives her, the rest of us will do just fine if we follow their lead.

“I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I’m thankful for the incredible response of people willing to pray for me, for us, and I sincerely feel it.
  2. I’m thankful that so far I don’t have new symptoms and feel pretty good.
  3. Thank you for praying for our family as each one adjusts to the difficult news of the cancer.