A Man Doesnt’ Recognize the Answer To His Prayer Because of Laziness
A man, who had been a churchgoer since boyhood from a remote village went to his town one day and saw advertisements and billboards along the highway. He saw advertisements endorsing a brand of dairy products – milk, cheese, yoghurt and others. He was absolutely mesmerized by the models in the ad and was totally engrossed by the proclaimed health benefits of the products. When he went back to his village he feverishly prayed that God would supply all of those to him within a short span of time. He claimed it by faith and expectantly waited. One night, he boldly told God in his prayer, "Lord I want the answer to my prayers tomorrow morning when I wake up". He woke up the next morning and found his cow untied and grazing in his front yard munching his beans and crushing his young corn. He found no milk, cheese and yoghurt around. In his dismay that God did not give him what he asked, he butchered his cow and made steak, beef soup and other beef-based menu. He called all his neighbors and they had a buffet. He did not realize God’s simple solutions that only needed a little bit of his participation. His cow was the embodiment of all the answers to his prayers – the fresh milk, cheese and the yoghurt.
How often we unwittingly brush aside God’s simple solutions to our problems because of our laziness and self-centeredness, expecting God to move according to our own terms. Let us be observant; be discerning so as not to ignore God’s simple solutions, which are often strange.
From a sermon by Jofrey Bustamante, When God Intervenes, 12/7/2009