Yancey on Prayer 5 (and other stories)

A good quote from Yancey:

Thus God flatly declares that, in addition to our private spiritual state, our social concern (or lack of it) - for the poor, for orphans and widows - also has a direct bearing on how our prayers are received. Other prophets, such as Malachi, get even more specific. Those who pay exploitative wages, who break marriage vows through adultery and divorce, who treat illegal immigrants badly, who refuse to share food with the hungry or provide shelter to the homeless, risk closing God's ears to their prayers. As a twenty-first century American, those warnings cut me to the quick.

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Last night I sat on Levi's bed and listened as he said his prayer, then I said mine. In it I prayed that God would protect the people with no place to sleep last night because it was cold outside. After I said, 'Amen' he asked why some people had no place to sleep and I told him it's because they don't have money to buy a house. He didn't really understand why you needed money to buy a house, so I explained that everything costs money. I said, "When Momma and I decided we needed to buy you more pajamas, we went to the store and found some and they said, 'If you want those pajamas you have to pay money.' I explained further than his pillow cost money, his blanket cost money, his stuffed animals cost money, etc. He still had a confused look on his face and asked, "But when you paid money for our house, how did they get it in the bag?"

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Yesterday I preached for the last time as a "fill in" preacher. Our full-time minister, Bob Odle, his wife Teri, and their boys, Austin, Jett, Micah, and Elijah arrive this week. It's been fun filling in and I've learned a lot, but I cannot describe the weight that is lifted knowing I can focus only on youth ministry again. I love to preach although I dread the preparation (for which I owe thanks to Jack Reese for scaring the bejeezes out of me in my college days at Abilene by regularly quoting such phrases as "Who dares to preach, knowing what preaching is? Who dares?" So my preparation usually consists of sweaty palms, second-guessing, and loads of prayer that what I'm saying won't veer from the message of Scripture even one iota). Perhaps someday I will pursue the pulpit, but not until I feel I've run my course in youth ministry. My heart, my energy, and my passion still lies with helping teens see Christ a little more clearly.

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March Madness Predictions: Duke loses to VCU in the first round (I'm really praying this happens, despite being a Duke fanatic. That way this miserable season will finally be over, and I can cheer for the hometown VCU Rams).

Final Four Teams: Wisconsin, UCLA, Texas, Ohio State

National Championship Game: Wisconsin vs. Texas

National Champion: Texas (I despise the Longhorns, but Kevin Durant is just too good)