Bothering God With Piddly Stuff!

There is a part of me that still thinks it was just a coincidence. And there is a part of me that knows it was a miracle from a God who is interested in the minor intricacies of our lives. But yesterday, it stopped raining for exactly 26 minutes. And that was precisely what I had prayed for. Here'’s what happened.

A friend of mine got married yesterday and it was awesome. When he was at our Tuesday night men's accountability group last week, he was excited about his wedding. But his one concern was that the outdoor ceremony was scheduled on a day where rain was in the forecast. I told him that I would pray that God would stop the rain for his ceremony. Everyone was kind of amused at the fact that such religious and bold words would come out of my mouth. Actually, so was I.

God did say in Isaiah chapter one that we could reason together, so I took him up on the offer. I asked God to rebuke the rain off of Randy's wedding ceremony. I reminded God how hard they had fought to remain sexually pure until after the ceremony. And I reminded God how far Randy has come in his faith. When he started the men's group, he was in a crisis of faith about God and his relationship to us mere mortals. But now his light shines brightly!

Yesterday I drove from Dallas to Arlington in the pouring rain. I prayed all the way there for God to stop the rain but had an umbrella with me anyway. Ten minutes before show time, people were ushered into covered places to watch the ceremony. But like clockwork, the minute the minister came to the front, the rain miraculously stopped. I sat in the seats uncovered with my umbrella closed for the whole ceremony. When it was over, the rain began once again. Coincidence? I am beginning to think that God might be more intimately connected to us than we give him credit for. Look at this story about a miracle that has always made me marvel.

The company of the prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live." And he said, "Go." Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with your servants?" "I will," Elisha replied. And he went with them.

They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. "Oh, my lord," he cried out, "it was borrowed!" The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. "Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it. 2 Kings 6:1-7 (New International Version)

I love the fact that some of the Bible versions say that the axhead swam to the surface. Strange, right? Not really. Is it strange to think that an axhead could swim, or is it stranger to consider that the power of God would be released in miracle proportions for the losing of a borrowed tool? Maybe we ARE that important to God. Maybe he REALLY DOES care about us that much. If he will stop the rain for a wedding, and make an axhead swim for a workman, what would he be willing to do for you?

Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD. Psalm 113: 5-9 (New International Version)