By James Washington
There’s a passage in scripture that tells us to be careful how we entertain strangers because they may, in fact, be angels in disguise. I don’t know if you believe in angels, but I’ve often wondered what I would do if I had the opportunity to entertain God. What would you have done if God had come over for dinner? What would you do if you knew God was responding to your invitation to come and visit? I’ve thought about that often as it relates to prayer. After all, prayer is the official invitation for God to enter our lives and become a permanent part of our living, breathing, eternal existence. The question is, what would you do if His answer was yes? Guess who’s coming to dinner!
Serious contemplation of that convinces me that I’m not ready, but I will forever be extending the invitation to the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. As with Enoch, the very thought of being able to walk with God is mind-boggling. The very thought of knowing that the invitation to be lead by the Holy Spirit has been accepted, would humble any man, or at least it should. As I pray and beseech the Lord to let me empty myself to those things that would stand in the way of the Holy Spirit taking hold of my life, I know if it actually happened I would be changed forever.Try to imagine a lifestyle predicated upon living for Christ.
You can understand the angst one might feel when you connect the dots of prayer, the words of faith, and the actions of life. Our actions directly link to whether or not we understand and accept what we’re praying for. Each day, I ask the Lord to allow me to do one thing that will be solely based on someone else’s ability to view me as a man of God. That may sound hollow to you, but I believe deeply that during the course of ao I come in contact with should respond to that contact with the day, someone whbelief that I’m a practicing believer. Please see Jesus in me today, somebody… anybody, stranger or angel. Many evening prayers have me searching for that kind of thought, that selfless gesture that I do on that day simply because I love Jesus. Many an evening, after morning conviction, I come up wanting. It did not happen on that day. Not one thing did I do could I point to and know it wasn’t for me or because of me that I did it. It was achieved or accomplished because it was God’s will. There have been other days, of course, where there is tangible evidence of at least trying to be a blessing to someone else in either thought or deed… From witnessing to giving testimony, from helping to offering a listening ear, from taking time to giving time that you might not think you have, God was there in thought, word, and deed. That then becomes an awesome day.
The key is wanting to rather than having to. If you believe you have to do something, that becomes a somewhat whacked way of trying to keep your score. If you do that, you’ll lose every time. We know you can never do enough to earn God’s respect and get His attention, but Jesus took care of that for us. But you can become enough to earn God’s favor as Enoch did. The reward is God’s to give, not ours to expect. So the next time you pray, stop and think about what you’re praying for or why you’re praying. Then, consider your actions in relation to that prayerful moment. Hopefully, they add up to realizing that God might just take up upon your invitation. I can’t imagine the subsequent conversation, but I wish for it every single day of my life for me and you.
May God bless and keep you always.
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