just not feelen' it today...

Happy I mean. Oh, I have a heart of gratitude but today I also have a heavy heart. I want healing for Belle.
As I was preparing for a funk this morning my friend, Louise, reminded me that today is the national day of prayer. Well no wonder I am in a funk.
I feel a little like the rich young man who told Jesus he wanted to be a follower and Jesus told him that he would have to walk away from everything in order to so...that rich young man walked away from Jesus. The bible doesn't tell us if that little Richy Rich guy ever walked back. It is one of those "what is the rest of the story" stories in the Word. We are left to assume that was the end of it.
You see, that rich kid new the price and decided it wasn't worth it.
I said I knew the price...man it is high. But I also know the price of walking away is way higher. Not just the salvation part, the whole life part. His Word promises He will direct our steps...given my penchant for fantastic ideas, I need to know right from left and West from East...
You see when you become a follower, it also means that you become a person of prayer. And when you become a person prayer, there is a price. You really do weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.
When you pray, you get to hear from Him! He has things to tell us and if we would just come to our Abba the gifts are beyond compare! To hear from the Creator of the universe? No, there is no greater thrill to know, that you know, that you know, that you have heard from Him.
I think as the Body of Christ we have some who are in the "I'll~set~up~for~the~next~event~Club" and some in the "I~will~direct~traffic~Club" and some in the "I~can~make~a~meal~for~you~Club" and then there is the "Prayer~Club".
It ticks me off.
The Great Commission is to go and tell others about Him...well how in the world are you suppose to do that if you don't ever to talk to the boss and find out who He wants you to talk to?
That one ticks me off in a big way.
The Great Commandment is to love one another...have you ever tried to love someone who is so unlovable that the best thing you can offer them is a punch in the nose? How in the world can you love others in your own strength? How can you live 1 Corinthians 13 if you don't have the power to do so...that power only comes from Him.
Again, ticked.
Don't get me wrong, I know plenty of setter-uppers and meal makers and traffic directors who are also prayers. But somehow, Prayer Warriors are set in a club all to themselves.
Frankly, it ticks me off and harshes my darn mellow.
Prayer is left to those who actually do it. I use to think that everyone who calls themselves a believer was also a prayer...and then I went to church and found out otherwise. In all my life I have seen the most un-Christian behavior from Christians. But then again, I could not call a non-Christian, un~Christian-like. Well how do we judge someone harshly who doesn't know any better? But believers? I try not to judge a baby by grown up standards...but come on Believers, grow up for crying out loud!
We have a nation in crisis from oil spilling in the gulf, to Tennessee under water, to terrorist attacks in the city, to illegal immigrants rioting in the streets...and as a nation we murder the unborn everyday while we beg God to heal another child. As a nation we expect the blessings of Providence even while we turn our back on the Apple of God's eye.
When a Christian nation stops praying and stops seeking His will...not just as a nation but as individuals, we begin to see the personal lives of all people fall apart.
The Word of God tells us that the sun shines and the rain falls on both the good and the wicked alike. As a nation we have got some serious rain going on!
So pray.
Pray for mercy...for our nation, for our church and for our Belle.
Because God is both Just and Merciful. Pray, like you have never prayed before because He asked you too and I for one, won't say no to the Creator of the universe.

"For all flesh is like grass, and the glory of men as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever." (1 Peter 1:24-25)