Lent Blog #14 (Rugby)

All too often I forget how big of a God I serve.

I received a text message the other day from a dear friend of mine asking me to pray for one of the rugby players on her brother’s team. The player had flipped and landed on his head and wasn’t able to move. I immediately started to pray but in the back of my mind, I didn’t expect the player to walk away with no long term injury. I repeatedly prayed for God’s will to be done knowing that it would be and I asked my friend to update me on the status of the player as she got news of it. I didn’t think about the whole situation much until the next day when my friend texted  me to tell me that the player was absolutely fine. He didn’t even have a concussion. I was shocked. I mean, I prayed for healing and restoration from God but I guess I didn’t actually expect Him to deliver.

I got to thinking about how often I do that in my prayer life. How often do I pray for things and, in the back of my mind, not expect God to do big things?

There is a Christian movie called, “Facing The Giants.” It is ridiculously cheesy and the acting is average at best but I really do like the message behind it. There is one part in the movie where the head football coach is talking to an older gentleman about the football season. The coach wants and prays to win games but never expects it to happen. The older man tells him a story:

“I heard a story about two farmers
who desperately needed rain.

Both of them prayed for rain,
but only one of them went out
and prepared his fields to receive it.
Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?

God will send the rain when He is ready.
You need to prepare your field to receive it.“

I pray for rain. But a lot of the time I don’t trust God to send it. I pray for healing and answers and then I am not disciplined enough to wait for an answer. But, God is a big God. And He can do whatever He wants to do in whatever timing He wants to do it. Regardless of whether or not I believe He will.

God, You are big. You will send the rain. All I have to do is trust You.