Yancey On Prayer And Perspective (cont'd)

Hey, Y'all,

Wow, tempus fugit again (yes, that's "time flies" in Latin--told you I'm in touch with my inner geek here of late :-). Crazy busy last week but had a lot of fun running around this weekend with my folks in town, now I'm off to El Centro tomorrow @ 0430 for a couple of days (won't get home 'til 2200 Wed night after class--so the craziness continues unabated :-). However, I wanted to make sure I got this RST out tonight 'cause it's good stuff--it's a continuation of the "perspective" thought post-before-last...

Prayer helps correct myopia, calling to mind a perspective I daily forget. I keep reversing roles, thinking of ways in which God should serve me, rather than vice versa. As God unsubtly reminded Job, The Lord of the universe has many things to manage, and in the midst of my self-pity I would to well to contemplate for a moment God's point of view.

"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations?
Tell me if you understand.
Who marked off it's dimensions?
Surely you know!"

Prayer raises my sight beyond the petty or even--as in Job's case--dire circumstances of my daily life to afford a glimpse of that lofty and broad perspective. I realize my tininess and God's vastness, and the true relation of the two. In God's presence I feel small because I am small.

When, after shrugging aside all his caustic theological queries, God enlightened hapless Job, the man crumbled. In effect, Job said, "I'm sorry...I had no idea what I was asking." Job did not receive a single answer to his probing questions--a fact that no longer seemed to matter.

"Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?" God asks.
"Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand,
of things too wonderful for me to know," says Job.

Kicking and screaming all the way, I'm still learning the lesson of Job. God needs no reminding of the nature of reality--but I do.

You've been prayed for today...