The Beginning

Needless to say, I have neglected my blog for quite a while. I will endeavor to be better in the future.

I was reading a devotion in the 75th Anniversary edition of the Upper Room today. The article was from 1976 and told the story of a young boy praying for the return of his dog. It reminded me of my first encounter with prayer.

I suppose I was in the 1st or 2nd grade when my mother told me that Papa (my grandfather and her father) had had a heart attack. My memory is of being out in the front yard, thinking about him and beginning to pray that God would help him. I don't know why I did that. We weren't a church family and did not have prayer in our home. Nevertheless, here I stood in the front yard, a simple young boy praying a simple prayer.

The exciting part of this story is that soon mother told me that Papa was doing much better and was going to be OK. I remember that day as if it were today. I thought to myself, "Prayer really does work and God even listened to me." I don't think I ever shared that experience with my mother, but I believe that it was the very beginning of the journey that has taken me to this point in my life.

This memory is important because it reminds us that:
a. Prayer really does work.
b. God listens to even the smallest of children, even in places where little Christian influence is present.
c. We must never underestimate the significance of even the smallest of events in our lives.

I am glad I spent some time with the Upper Room today and encourage you to carve out even a short period of time each day to focus your thoughts on God and his love for you. And, thanks to the Upper Room for 75 years of spreading the good news all over the world - especially in mine.