Oh no, Lord. Not again. I breathe in silent prayer for the young man who staggered up to my counter at the store. Father, I don’t know if this boy is drunk or strung out on drugs. But You know him Lord. You know what problems he faces, the struggles. You even hold the answer. Please help him overcome whatever holds him captive.
“How can I help you.” The young man asks about our Western Union service. I finish his transaction and watch while he walks away. Still not steady, but walking. I pray for his mother too.
We’re told, “pray without ceasing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NASB) and that makes sense with the many opportunities to pray for others. For deliverance, for salvation, redemption, health, finances,
For peace….
At the store I also see many reasons to praise God for the love and grace He provides.
“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love,” 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NASB). Some translations have the word love translated as charity and this love is evident in the tiny grocery store as customers give to others—
The leather-clad biker who leaves his change, a $20 bill, to the young mother with a toddler and an infant, standing in line behind him.
The woman who pulls out her debit card to pay the remaining $7 for a college student’s purchase so he doesn’t have to choose what food to put back.
The man who reached into his own pocket for the change needed to cover the elderly man’s meal.
People who struggle to feed themselves and their own family yet pull out a $5 bill to purchase prepackaged groceries for the local food pantry.
The cashiers who put a handful of change from their own purses at their register, just in case somebody comes up a little short.
The director of a faith-based thrift store who arranges with the grocery manager to pay the bill of a family enduring hardship.
These things demonstrate the greatness of America. It’s not the politics (which often leave us disheartened no matter what viewpoint we hold) but the people. Their love and their prayers.
Our Love.
Our prayers.
Our Father.
“… put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, …
“Whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father,” Colossians 3:14-17 (NASB).
paynefulponderings 