Be Careful What You Pray For

But some of us do not have to be reminded because there are all kinds of emergencies that come up each day that remind us to pray.

Illus: A mother and her five year old son were headed to McDonald's. On the way they passed a car accident. Whenever the mother saw something terrible like that, she made it a habit to pray for those who might be hurt. She decided this would a be a good time to teach her son to do the same. Instead of praying, she said to her son, "We should pray." From the back seat she heard his earnest request: "Please, God, don't let those cars block the entrance to McDonald's."

Every day there are STRESSFUL situations that remind us to pray.

Illus: Here are some prayers that some have prayed under STRESS:

• One man had his own version of the “Serenity Prayer”. It goes like this: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I cannot accept, And the wisdom to hide the bodies of those I had to kill today because they got on my nerves.”

• Another man under stress prayed: “Help me to be careful of the toes I step on today, as they may be connected to the feet I may have to kiss tomorrow.”

• Another man who was having a very bad day prayed: “Lord, help me because when I'm having a bad day and it seems that people are trying to wind me up, it takes 42 muscles to frown, 28 to smile and only 4 to extend my arm and smack someone in the mouth!”

Almost every day things happen that remind us we need to pray.

Hezekiah was a man of prayer. Hezekiah was King of Judah for 29 years. More space is given to Hezekiah in Scripture than to almost any other king since the time of Solomon.

Look at 2 Kings 18:1-7, we read, “Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.”

Make no mistake about it; this was a great man of God. He was a godly man and he was known for his goodness. He had that kind of a reputation.

Illus: Talking about being known for his goodness, reminds me of this red neck in Pelion, SC, who KNEW EVERYONE!

HE WAS VERY PROUD HE KNEW EVERYONE AND OFTEN BRAGGED ABOUT IT! One man got tired of hearing him brag and decided to call his bluff. The man challenged him and said, "OK, Bubba, how about Tom Cruise! Do you personally know Tom Cruise?" "Sure, Tom and I are old friends, and I can prove it." So Bubba and this man flew out to Hollywood and knocked on Tom Cruise's door, and sure enough, Tom Cruise, shouts, "Bubba! Great to see you! You and your friend come right in and join me for lunch!"

Although impressed, still this man was skeptical that he knew everyone. So when they left Tom Cruise’s house, he challenged him again,

He said, “Do you personally know President George W. Bush?” He said, “Yes, I know him very well!” They flew to Washington and went to the White House and saw the President getting off Air Force 1. He spotted Bubba and said, “Bubba, I have not seen you in a couple of years, it is so good to see you! Come on into the White House and let’s catch up on things you have been doing.”

The man was getting impressed but he still did not believe what he had heard about Bubba knowing everyone. So he thought he would do one more thing. He said, “Do you know the Pope?” Bubba said, “Sure, I have known the Pope for many years.” They went to the Vatican to prove he knew the Pope.