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violate their copyright. I will give some information on them.
PAGE TITLE: CBN Daily Devotion
ARTICLE
TITLE:
Lord, Send Someone Across my Path
DATE: February 16, 2008
AUTHOR: Diane Pearson
AUTHOR
INFORMATION: Diane
Pearson earned a master’s degree in
education and taught at Ivy Tech State College in Lafayette, IN, for fourteen
years. God called her to full-time Christian writing, speaking, and
teaching in 1997. Diane is a published author with nine Devotion books
and more than 500 articles in various newspapers, magazines, and books.
She writes a weekly newspaper column for the religion page of The Times, Frankfort, IN,
called “Real Life Devotions,” true stories of God working in people’s
lives. Contact Diane at dipearson@comcast.net
or check her website at www.dianepearson.org.
A
good friend and experienced Christian (she was in her 90s) introduced me to one
of the simplest, yet most powerful prayers you can say: “Lord, send
someone across my path today that I can help.”
It’s
an exciting prayer and one which the Lord delights in answering. The first time
I ever said that prayer, soon after I became a Christian, God answered in a
dramatic way. I was praying in the car on my way to work in Lafayette, Ind.,
where I was a teacher. I didn’t even have time to take my coat off before my
office door opened and a student walked in. She was struggling with panic
attacks and needed help. She had no way of knowing that I, too, had been through
the same struggle. God sent her to me because He knew I could help her. I
thanked God for the answer to prayer and that He chose to use me in that
way.
In
this case, the answer was immediate and very obvious. Four things happened
here:
- I prayed.
- I watched for an answer.
- I discerned it was from God.
- I thanked God for the answer.
Other
times, the answer is not so clear, but the same steps apply. After you pray, go
throughout your day in a state of watchfulness and anticipation that God will
answer. When you sense an answer, ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern if
God is acting. And, finally, always thank the Lord for using you.
A
story in Genesis
24 demonstrates this pattern. Abraham was very old and asked his chief
servant to get a wife for his son Isaac “not from the Canaanites, among whom I
am living, but go to my country and my own relatives.” (vs.
4)
The
servant traveled to a town where he stopped to water his camels. The servant
prayed: “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today and show
kindness to my master Abraham.” (vs.12)
Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her
shoulder. The servant “watched her closely to learn whether or not the
Lord had made his journey successful.” (vs.
21) In conversation with her, he discovered that she was, indeed, a
relative of Abraham’s through his brother Nahor. Then the servant bowed
down and thanked God: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master
Abraham. . . . The Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s
relatives.” (vs.
27)
Do
you see the pattern here? Pray. Watch. Discern. Thank God.
Start
your day with that simple prayer: “Lord, send someone across my path
today that I can help.”
He
may seat you next to someone in a doctor’s office who needs encouragement. He
may place someone in a check-out line in front of you at the grocery store. The
possibilities are endless, and exciting!
There
may be times when you need to change the prayer to: “Lord, send someone
across my path today to encourage me.”
God
is not averse to you praying for yourself. Encouragement may come from a phone
call, an unexpected knock on your door, or a kind word from a stranger. The
steps are the same: Pray. Watch. Discern. Thank God.
(Published
in The Times,
Frankfort, IN, February 16, 2008. Copyright retained by Diane
Pearson.)
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