What Prayer May Be
After I preached on meeting God in creation, wilderness, and nature someone recommended the book, I Saw God Wash The World, by William Stidger. It is a book of nature and faith poetry. I have enjoyed it so far and I really appreciate the perspective Dr. Stidger gives on prayer. So, since our emphasis this year is prayer, I thought I might share it with you all, too.
I THINK I KNOW WHAT PRAYER MAY BE
I think I know what prayer may be
In all its great simplicity;
I saw its deeper meaning gleam
Out of the wonder of a dream.
I was a god myself, with power
To answer prayer for just one hour.
It was a little world, it’s true,
But all its simple laws I knew.
Each of its laws I could command
With mind, and will, and heart and hand.
Then, walking through this world I know
I chanced upon a scene of woe:
A bird and bee caught in a room
Condemned to almost certain doom;
Till I came by, with sympathy
And saw their plight, and set them free.
I have no doubt that bird and bee
Believed it some great mystery;
An intervention, filled with awe
To baffle truth and time and law.
It did not seem so strange to me
To liberate that bird and bee.
I broke no laws, performed no feat
I could not any day repeat.
Thus it must be with Him who cares
To hear and answer human prayers;
A simple, loving thing to do;
Within His laws and Nature – true.
He has the strength, He has the way;
He knows the higher laws that play
Their simple parts in such affairs.
That is the way God answers prayers.
I love how simply this poem puts the wonder of an omnipotent God. His ways, understanding and resources are so much beyond my comprehension! To Him, answering my prayer is as simple as shooing a bird and bee from my house would be for me. The picture painted in this poem helps me visually how easy it is for God to miraculously answer my prayers. It helps me trust in His good timing and providence. I hope it encourages you too.
Steve Poole
Pastor of Youth & Young Adults
