Crying Out to God

Well, I wasn’t actually crying out to God…but I was close.

Have you ever knocked on doors trying to sell something? That’s what I was doing—a book I had written.

It was so hot. And no one was home or they pretended they weren’t. If they did answer the door, it was like the last guy I talked to: “I’m a Buddhist.” Though kind in his rejection, he wasn’t buying a Christian book.

I prayed silently: “God, I need a blessing around the next corner.”

Why would I pray this way? Because I was tired? Discouraged?

Yes, but more importantly, because the Bible has these kinds of prayers. For example:“May Jesus Himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.”

Trudging up the incline of the next driveway, I heard a friendly, exuberant: “Rick Leland, what are you doing here?” Smiling, I didn’t immediately recognize the person. The hot sun was glaring in my eyes. I was twenty miles from home; in a neighborhood I had never been in.

It was Jon Booko.

I had only seen Jon a few times in the last six years. Prior to that, he had worked for me as an apprentice carpenter. Now he owned a thriving construction business. His father Pastor Paul Booko had baptized me, mentored me, and was in my book.

We stood in the garage of Jon’s beautiful home talking for thirty-five minutes. Words of encouragement and of faith in God flowed. Leaving, I told him our time together was an answer to my prayer. A blessing which would carry me for many miles.

Just like the Bible said: “A fresh heart…invigorated my work…enlivened my speech.”