I have to admit that I watched with a fair amount of glee as Sarah Palin was lampooned during the recent U.S. election for some of her gaffes. And I was shocked and appalled when the story broke that she spent twenty-two thousand dollars on a hairdresser during the first two weeks of October.
I was surprised to feel sympathy toward her when the criticism began after she expressed her conviction about seeking God's guidance for the future. The scorn poured down on her from all quarters, as though prayerfully asking for direction was a sign of being a half-wit. If it is, then I'm a member of Half-Wit's Anonymous. I've asked God to guide me before accepting every call to a congregation through the years, and while I can't say that I heard voices or that the clouds parted, I wouldn't have felt right without asking for guidance. As a pastor I sometimes I feel that I don't encourage congregants enough to "take it to the Lord in prayer" as they make major decisions.
That comment was one of the few times I appreciated her claim to be a Christian. I do wish Ms. Palin had spent a little more time in prayer before so maliciously attacking Barack Obama's character during the election campaign. Perhaps God will do a little remedial work with her on what constitutes Christian behaviour for a leader. And she may discover that God closes doors as well as opens them.
Do you pray about the important decisions in your lives?
3 comments:
Yes, I pray, but usually as a last resort. My challenge is to remember to use it right away and throughout the decision making process.
I pray every day, but I am not always still when I do so. Once, several years ago, when I was in the hospital I met a teenage girl there who was being treated for depression. She was a young mother, overwhelmed, and getting the help she knew she needed. I couldn't help but be impressed. One day as we sat eating our lunch she told me that she had thought about prayer alot, and that she had come to the conclusion that everything she did was a prayer. She recognized that all of her questions and answers, decsions and choices, were an act of asking and that her life was the answer. I thought this was so profound, escpecially coming from someone so young.
I appreciate your honesty, Deb. Many of us tend toward the "break glass in case of emergency" approach to prayer and I often wonder why I'm not more consistent.
Pupil, you speak to the apostle Paul's "pray without ceasing" maxim. Everything we do can be prayerful if we do it with intention and direct it toward God.
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