The Prayer

“If I have wounded any soul today, If I have caused one foot to go astray, If I have walked in my own willful way, dear Lord forgive. Forgive the sins I have confessed to Thee; Forgive the secret sins I do not see; O guide me, love me and my keeper be, Dear Lord, Amen.”(C Maude Battersby 1911)

If I were choosing words to pray for this evening, I think this would be a good place to start. Something that stands out in my memory is a prayer my eleven-year old grandson prayed when my dad was so sick, “Dear God, take your baseball bat of power and just hammer the devil on the head with it to get out of my grandfather, hit the devil with a lightening bolt and make him leave, in Jesus name AMEN” That prayer was said VERY loudly, I think he thought the louder he prayer the more power it would have, so we got an ear full!

In Matthew 17 we read how Jesus took Peter, James and John, apart from the other disciples, to a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light. Then they realized that Moses and Elijah were also there in deep conversation with him. A light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice: “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him.” When the disciples heard it, they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. But Jesus came over and touched them. “Don’t be afraid.” When they opened their eyes and looked around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus. Maybe it’s just me, but if I saw such a miracle in front of my own eyes, I think I could muster up a little faith, right? As soon as they left the mountain a man came out of the crowd and fell to his knees begging, “Master, have mercy on my son. He goes out of his mind and suffers terribly, falling into seizures. Frequently he is pitched into the fire, other times into the river. I brought him to your disciples, but they could do nothing for him. “Jesus said, “Bring the boy here.” He ordered the afflicting demon out—and it was out, gone. From that moment on the boy was well. When the disciples had Jesus off to themselves, they asked, “Why couldn’t we throw it out?” “Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,” said Jesus. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.” I don’t want to criticize the Disciples, but after having seen the transfiguration they didn’t have enough faith to tackle a simple demon? Give me a break! In Acts 19 we read of seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. In our modern vernacular, the demon beat the hell out of them! Why? They were being copycats; they didn’t know the Power personally!

Have you got mountain-moving faith? For now I will say, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take, Amen!”

I believe in miracles, because I believe in God.