Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:10, 11

My oldest brother Bill is an internationally known surgeon who has always been a source for great sermon illustrations. He told me of a memorable incident that occurred at a famous teaching hospital in New England.

One of the older wings of the hospital had private rooms reserved for patients whose medical conditions were less urgent and whose personal budgets were more extravagant. The waiting areas in this wing had fireplaces, oriental rugs and ornate furniture. Most of the patients were paying extra for private duty nurses to provide constant round the clock care.

One morning as the surgical residents were making rounds, they entered a room and found a private duty nurse cheerfully knitting beside the bed of a deceased patient. It was obvious that the patient had been dead for several hours; his color was ashen and his body had become rigid. Nevertheless, the nurse’s notes indicated normal pulse, respiration and blood pressure as recently as half an hour before the doctors arrived.

Seeing the situation, the doctor in charge of rounds wanted to make a lasting impression on his students, as well as on this private duty nurse. The doctor reached out and pressed down on the feet of the deceased patient. The rigid corpse sprang forward, startling everyone in the room.

Caught and confronted in this awkward situation, the embarrassed nurse explained to the doctor that the patient had been restlessly struggling until around two a.m.: “When he finally grew quiet, I didn’t want to risk waking him, so I made up the vital signs. I just wanted him to sleep.”

Too often, when we are charged with providing spiritual care to people around us, we fail to recognize that many in our care are not just sleeping peacefully; they are spiritually DEAD. It is tragic that rather than risk disturbing these spiritual corpses, we continue to reassure ourselves that they are just resting, peaceful and oblivious to any danger.

When it comes to recognizing the characteristics of spiritual life, we are often reluctant to look for spiritual qualities the Bible tells us to expect in those who have passed from death to life. We ignore evidence of spiritual death and instead hope that, in time, the people we know and love will somehow awaken to a better day. Spending time with spiritually dead people can make our own weakened spiritual condition seem healthy in comparison. We deceive ourselves so easily.

One of the clearest indications of our own spiritual condition is our personal prayer life. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Prayer should be as natural to the Christian as breathing. If our prayer is labored and weak, we need to consider what ails us.

Because so many Christians are in an unhealthy spiritual state, the church has come to accept carnality as normal, despite the repeated warnings of Scripture. Spiritually healthy souls are viewed as extraordinary individuals, as if God’s blessings were only for a few of His children.

God always keeps His promises. His children are not left to work our way into His good favor. We love Him, because He first loved us. Nothing can separate us from His love. A healthy, vital prayer life best reflects our trust in Him and His love for us.

For a long time I struggled with a philosophical question about prayer: “What is the point in praying? If God is sovereign, almighty and all knowing, what is the point? Or if we’re going to pray, why don’t we just pray, ‘Okay God, do whatever you want.’” Really, isn’t God going to do whatever He wants anyway? He’s got all the power, and we don’t get a vote.

Suppose we all agree that we don’t want to go along with God’s plan any longer. Will God then abandon His plan? I have come to understand that if I don’t cooperate with God, I’ll miss the opportunity to enjoy His plan. God will accomplish His purposes, regardless of my attitude or my obedience. The question is what part I will play in His plan. Will I embrace His will for my life?

Prayer involves a developing relationship with God. He loves us and wants us to enjoy intimacy with Him. Our life on earth is an opportunity to cultivate our relationship with Him.

FEATURED RESOURCE
BOOK:

Embracing His Will

The Life of PRAYER
Book 3