7But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.8And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."
Yesterday on The Meeting House, I talked about this recent LifeWay Research survey in cooperation with author Max Lucado about the frequency and content of prayer. And, one of the striking findings to me was that many people believe that prayer works, but comparatively few pray consistently. I think God is calling us to have a serious prayer life - as this passage states, we can adopt that posture and be watchful - aware that prayer is important and seeking to pray in alignment with God's heart. I think that we take the call to pray seriously, and approach our prayer life with clear-headedness, allowing the Lord to direct our prayers so that He will be glorified and His will accomplished.
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2Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;4and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.5But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
As a recently-fired UPS employee walked into a Birmingham UPS facility and began shooting, the calls for help to 911 began to ramp up.
A ChristianNews.net story relates that that 911 audio recordings documented cries for help such as, “We need police, we need medics, we need everybody!”
The article relates a quote by Twyana Davis from an AL.com story: "I asked God to lead my words and my way so that I don’t get anybody hurt." Davis stayed on the phone with the caller, and dispatched police, who arrived to find three men already dead, including the shooter.
Davis said that after she went home that hectic day, she thanked God—although three lives were lost—that the situation wasn’t any worse than it was. She stated, “I’m more grateful to God than anything... “I’m sad for the people who lost their lives and for their families. But I’m glad our officers didn’t have to shoot anybody and none of our officers were injured.”
Davis thanked her co-workers and the officers as well, who were quick to respond to the matter.
“Here we all are a week later, the same people who worked that day,” she said. “We all worked as a team. We didn’t lose any officers. God blessed us enough to be here another week.”
The veteran dispatcher said that she has witnessed God use her in other situations to provide help and hope to others. In one instance, she told AL.com, she received a call from a suicidal man who had shot himself in the head at a local cemetery, but regretted his actions and wanted someone to save his life.
“In my mind, the Lord put me there to take that call,” Davis said. “He was almost incoherent. He said he had small kids and wanted to live for them.”
But as officers had difficulty locating the man in the large cemetery, she came up with an idea, and asked the man to hang up and that she would call his number so that police could follow the sound of the phone ringing.
“That’s how we found him,” Davis explained. “He’s alive today.”
What a great story of wisdom and clear-headedness in the face of tragedy. Twyana Davis is an example of someone who trusted God to lead her as she did her job. And, her actions of that day are a great reminder to all of us to depend on God in the midst of difficulties.
First of all, I do want to say a word about those who work in the area of law enforcement and those who are first responders, including those who field 911 calls. These individuals have to be clear-headed and have the right actions to take in particular situations. We must never take their contribution to our society for granted. They are instruments of God to carry out the Biblical role of government to preserve order.
Also, Twyana Davis is an example of someone who allowed the Lord to use her strategically in the performance of her work. If we are abiding in the Spirit and grounded in God's Word, we can depend on Him to give us direction, even in the midst of a crisis. If we are allowing the peace of God, that passes all understanding, to govern our lives, we have the potential to be used of the Lord to create that atmosphere, which can result in a productive outcome.
And, when we look back at God's faithfulness in an adverse situation, we can be reminded to give glory to Him. As we identify instances where His presence has been apparent, it can strengthen our sense of dependence on Him and build our faith, so that we have confidence in Him when we encounter other opportunities to demonstrate His power.
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