Even In the Small Things...

…..when you pray, I will hear you. Jeremiah 29:12 (NLT)

Dear Friend,

My young adult son called me a few days ago with panic in his voice. He told me he was at the ATM depositing cash. As he inserted cash into the machine, an error message flashed on the screen, the machine began to make noise, and the screen then went blank. My son’s debit card was partially captured by the machine along with all the money he was depositing. Nothing like this had ever happened to my son and he had no idea what to do. It was a Sunday and the bank was not open for him to get assistance. I told him to wait a few minutes and see if perhaps the machine would start working again. Otherwise, I said, cancel your debit card from your Banking App. Then I said, “there is nothing I can do to help you”. I ended the call and immediately thought, I should not have told my son there is nothing I can do. I can always pray.

I said a short prayer and asked God to help my son stay calm. I asked God to cause the machine to start working again and that all my son’s money be properly deposited and accounted for. About 25 minutes later, my son came home and told me he sat at the ATM for another 10 minutes and suddenly, the machine started working again. His card was ejected from the machine and he received a receipt for his deposit. I smiled and silently thanked God for hearing me and quickly answering. This moment reminded me, God is concerned about everything that concerns me. This wasn’t a huge issue, but it was something that was important to me.

Friend, nothing is too trivial to submit to God in prayer. Yes, God wants us to submit what we consider big issues like sickness, bereavement, job loss, and financial issues to Him. He also wants to hear about our day, what gave us joy, what saddened us, how we aren’t adjusting well to the newborn baby, or how dealing with colleagues is hard. God desires that we come to Him about everything, even non-working ATM machines.

Prayer is meant to be a continual conversation with God. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “Never stop praying.” Often, we feel like we can’t pray right where we are because we don’t have time to say a formal lengthy prayer or we aren’t in a place to get on our knees and pray. Other times, we don’t realize God is concerned about everything that concerns us. He wants to hear about everything…...even things we consider small. Tell Him everything! Our prayers don’t have to be long. We don’t have to use eloquent words. We don’t always have to pray in a certain position. Just open your mouth and have a conversation. Allow Him to respond. He’s waiting to hear from you!

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Colossians 4:2 (NLT)

Devoted to prayer,

Tracye M.