My friend had a birthday today. I called and sang Happy Birthday to her. We chatted for a bit and at the end of the conversation I said "Happy Birthday Em." Without skipping a beat she responded "Happy Birthday to you too" Of course its not my birthday. I don't celebrate for a few more months but without even realizing what she was saying out it came. We laughed for a few minutes at the silliness of our conversation.
As I hung up, I began to think of the many program responses we have. Here are just a few.
" Have a good day" Response: "You too"
" I love you" Response: "I love you too"
I immediately began to think about the times when something happens in someone's life like a death of a family member or a serious illness. Perhaps they just got bad news about their job or their house or their child. So many people say "I'll pray for you" or "You are in my prayers"
How many times has someone shared with us an event or an experience or news with us and our immediate response is "Ill pray for you" and how many times are we actually intentional about following thru and praying for that person or that situation.
Why do we have that program response? What is it about ourselves or our discipline that makes it difficult to control what we say or when we say it? Why do we feel guilty when our response is not the norm or the everday answer?
What would happen if we actually DID pray for the people and situations that we said we would?
Even if the outcome was still not ideal .... even if the end result was still the same the Bible teaches us that God listens to us and delights when we take that time to spend with Him.
Who knew that a simple Birthday conversation would open up a door for God to remind me to follow thru with the prayer requests of others. If I say that I am going to pray, then I need to pray and leave the outcome and the results to God.
