The Case of the Missing Cushions
First published October 24, 2008
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:15-16
Jeff and I were recently traveling south on Interstate Highway 5 through the Graphvine. This stretch of highway about 50 miles long 25 miles north of Los Angeles reaches an altitude of over 4,000 feet (6.669 km). Though the traffic flow was steady, it was a Sunday afternoon, and the four lane highway was crowded with motorists. We were driving uphill when out of the blue, a sofa cushion came bounding at us. “Whoa!” was all that I could utter as Jeff dodged the cushion. The roadway quickly turned and we could see that the cushion came from a sofa on a truck towing a trailer several car lengths ahead. “Can you catch them?” “They just passed us a few minutes ago,” Jeff replied. He tried to speed up a bit. The truck just kept gaining distance, but now we could see that another cushion was about to become airborne. It happened. The second cushion flew high into the air and started bouncing downhill towards the cars…and us. I joked “Oh, no! I feel like I’m in a video game!” Jeff, however, was serious faced trying to dodge the second cushion. Unsuccessful in catching the truck, he soon resumed his original speed. I started to pray.
The influence of sin or even reckless acts can be like the missing cushions. We go on in life unaware of how it can suddenly become dangerous or destructive to others around us. From the other perspective, when we see the effects of sinfulness occurring, we as observers might be able to dodge the “bouncing cushions”, but not be able to reach the clueless “truck.” So, what do we do? To our ability, we continue to try to reach the person and make them aware of the situation. If we can’t, then we pray. Hard.
Eventually, we came upon the truck and trailer parked. The driver and passenger were standing along the roadside looking back down the highway. Two cushions were somewhere out there. The damage, hopefully minimal, was done. I again prayed.
Prayer is the primary means by which we begin conscience communication with God. It is powerful. And, though we may not ever see the results of our calloused knees, we have the assurance that prayer makes a difference.
Our passage today is a reminder of what we can do for those times when the “bouncing cushions” are flying in the wake of the clueless “truck.” Today let’s be on the lookout for opportunities to pray fervently for those whose sin is dangerously affecting others in their life. Be a person of dynamic prayer.
Copyright 2008 Karen Vaughn
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:15-16
Jeff and I were recently traveling south on Interstate Highway 5 through the Graphvine. This stretch of highway about 50 miles long 25 miles north of Los Angeles reaches an altitude of over 4,000 feet (6.669 km). Though the traffic flow was steady, it was a Sunday afternoon, and the four lane highway was crowded with motorists. We were driving uphill when out of the blue, a sofa cushion came bounding at us. “Whoa!” was all that I could utter as Jeff dodged the cushion. The roadway quickly turned and we could see that the cushion came from a sofa on a truck towing a trailer several car lengths ahead. “Can you catch them?” “They just passed us a few minutes ago,” Jeff replied. He tried to speed up a bit. The truck just kept gaining distance, but now we could see that another cushion was about to become airborne. It happened. The second cushion flew high into the air and started bouncing downhill towards the cars…and us. I joked “Oh, no! I feel like I’m in a video game!” Jeff, however, was serious faced trying to dodge the second cushion. Unsuccessful in catching the truck, he soon resumed his original speed. I started to pray.
The influence of sin or even reckless acts can be like the missing cushions. We go on in life unaware of how it can suddenly become dangerous or destructive to others around us. From the other perspective, when we see the effects of sinfulness occurring, we as observers might be able to dodge the “bouncing cushions”, but not be able to reach the clueless “truck.” So, what do we do? To our ability, we continue to try to reach the person and make them aware of the situation. If we can’t, then we pray. Hard.
Eventually, we came upon the truck and trailer parked. The driver and passenger were standing along the roadside looking back down the highway. Two cushions were somewhere out there. The damage, hopefully minimal, was done. I again prayed.
Prayer is the primary means by which we begin conscience communication with God. It is powerful. And, though we may not ever see the results of our calloused knees, we have the assurance that prayer makes a difference.
Our passage today is a reminder of what we can do for those times when the “bouncing cushions” are flying in the wake of the clueless “truck.” Today let’s be on the lookout for opportunities to pray fervently for those whose sin is dangerously affecting others in their life. Be a person of dynamic prayer.
Copyright 2008 Karen Vaughn
posted by Karen Vaughn | 10:25 AM
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