Six months later we stood in her room. So many memories… My husband and I noticed
each framed picture and trinket that meant so much to his Mom. It was only a few weeks ago that our toddler
was playing on her lap. What delight a 2
½ year old can bring. But today, were
getting dressed for Mom’s funeral. I was
blessed to have such a mother-in-law.
My eyes glanced down to a shelf and to my surprise I noticed
a box of letters. Each letter had our
return address with my handwriting up in the corner. She had kept every one of my letters! I picked up the box. It was obvious that she had read them over
and over again. Those letters… Just
quick, “hi, how are you, we are doing good” kind of letters. A wave of sadness swept over me. If I had realized how much those quickly
scrawled words from us had meant to her, I would have taken more time with
those letters. I would have said deeper
things, and expressed our love for her more, even more. I just didn’t realize the preciousness of
those letters to her.
Do you know that God counts our prayers to Him as absolutely
precious? In Revelations 5:8 we read
about a heavenly scene. “When He had
taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down
before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of the saints.”
How do you like the imagery of your prayers being preserved
as something precious, carefully kept in a golden bowl in heaven, and being
likened to incense – something sweet and fragrant before the God of the
universe? What a powerful statement
about God’s feelings about our communications with Him. He loves us so much and longs to hear from us
so much that He keeps our prayers – even our quick “hi God, how are you, I need your help” kind
of prayers.
If we truly understood the magnitude of what our prayers
mean to Him, would it not change the way we pray? Would we not be compelled to take more time,
to be more real, and to express our love to God more fervently? Our Heavenly Father is like the father
portrayed in Luke 15 – the dad always watching the horizon for the return of
his run-away child, who will rejoice when we turn to Him with a repentant
heart. He longs to hear from us. The father in ‘The Prodigals Son’ was not
concerned with fancy speeches from his wayward son, only the words and intent
of his heart. Likewise our Heavenly
Father loves our real, unvarnished prayers.
In Eugene Peterson’s “The Message” Matthew 6:9-13 is presented in down-to-earth
language.
‘Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are,
Set the world right;
Do what’s best –
As
above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes.
Yes. Yes.’
