See the signs, change your mind

The Bible says a lot about prayer. Many other books have been written, talking about what the Bible says about prayer. Space would fail me here to scratch the surface of the topic. I’m not even going to break out my fancy googling machine to tell you how many verses in the Bible mention it. You can do that or get a grandkid to do it for you.

For me, though, some of the simplest, most important instruction comes from Jesus in Luke 11. Having been asked by his disciples to teach them how to pray, he hands them a lot of really great information, as a good teacher should do. But the most important bit is at the end of his discussion when he talks about attitudes and expectations.

Specifically, if you understand God’s attitude toward you, it will change your expectations in prayer. He uses a simple, logical argument with them. They were sinners and yet, even so, they knew how to give good gifts to their own children.

None of them was so cruel as to hand the child a deadly serpent when he asks for a piece of fish. The point is this: God is not evil like you, and you know how to give good things. How much more does the good and loving God know how to answer the prayers of his people?

During the Great Depression, there was a subsection of society, comprised of wandering, homeless beggars. We affectionately call them hobos. They developed a way of communicating with each other as they moved from place to place, a system of symbols that they would etch into fenceposts or leave on bridges. These symbols told other hobos about what they would find at a particular house or in a certain neighborhood. Maybe that would be aggressive police; kind widows who would be happy to give a sandwich; or, places where the water was clean and the camping was good.

Imagine the relief of finding a place where the hobo code told you that, in this house, you will find one who is both wealthy and generous. You’d knock on that door with more confidence than you would at a place where the sign warned of a harsh owner with mean dogs. You’d ask for food in different ways at those places, for sure.

Well, not to say it too crudely, but what we have in the Bible is a multitude of hobo signs, directed at us. Prophets and martyrs left them there. Praying mothers and redeemed villains urge you to see them. The Son of God himself points to them. They say: In this place, there is a Lord who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He determines the rise and fall of empires, and he numbers the hairs of your head. He has food. He has prepared a banquet, and your seat is reserved at the table.

If you are in Christ, your prayers are heard by a God who is already on your side. He doesn’t need to be convinced to give you what you need or to care for the ones you’re concerned about. Understand his attitude, and it just might change your expectations.

Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari. Contact him at:

[email protected]