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Saturday, October 03, 2009

Praying Big Prayers

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. Luke 8:24

A worldwide call to prayer went out yesterday. Today that prayer was answered.

Amidst all the chaos of tsunamis and earthquakes in Samoa and Indonesia, a violent storm threatening hundreds of thousands of people was heading towards the Philippines.

Call To Prayer
I received my "call to prayer" from an organisation called Breaking Christian News who have also been reporting on how local Christians in Samoa have been giving practical aid to the victims of the tsunami.

We were asked to pray that the storm heading for the Philippines would change direction and dissipate over the ocean. This morning it was reported by the BBC that the storm had indeed changed direction and that it now posed no threat to human life.

Prayer works.

At least, God responds to our prayers.

Questions
But this raises some very difficult questions. Why didn't God prevent the earthquakes and tsunami that have caused such devastation elsewhere? Does He value the lives of Filipinos above those of Samoans or Indonesians? We can choose to believe one of two things. Either God is capricious and acts on whims without care for the consequences for human lives, or He is as the Bible describes Him with thoughts and ways beyond our understanding, with purposes beyond our comprehension (Isaiah 55:8). A God who can be understood is, after all, really no God at all.

Prayer College Assignment
We should dare to pray big prayers because sometimes God says "yes" in dramatic ways. Pray some big prayers this week.