Last week I talked about praying for our neighbors and for our community. Today I would like to talk briefly about three practical ways to do that especially from a guys’ perspective.
The first has to do with us. Honestly, we don’t know how to pray for our neighbors, we don’t know what their needs are and that isn’t always our fault. It’s not like they’re volunteering information, especially if the “they” in question is a guy. The truth is, often times, guys don’t talk. We just don’t unless we have to. If you don’t believe me, look in the lease agreement that comes with us upon purchase. We have a quota for how many words we can use in a day. It’s written right there in black and white and if we go over that quota we get charged…..by the syllable. (Grunts don’t count against the quota by the way.) Yes, a man can purchase extra words if he so desires, but it’s pricey therefore, many pass, opting instead to use the free grunts and hand motions to get the job done. Okay, yes, there is a platinum plan that a person can buy whereby they can talk from the moment they wake up until the time they go to sleep about anything and everything whether they know what they are talking about or not, (You may have heard of it by its slang name, “The B.S. Upgrade.”) and some men find it to be economically feasible to purchase this upgrade, those working in sales....journalists……politicians. Those people are in the minority though so most guys don’t talk more than is necessary and we like it that way.
So, getting back to praying for your neighbors, some of whom are the male of the species, how do you do it? Invite God to get involved in the process. (This is more for your benefit than for His.) You don’t know what’s going on in your neighbor’s life but He does and He’s had a plan for these people from the time they were conceived, before that actually. Ask God to continue to work out His plan for these people. Once again, this is probably more for your benefit than for God’s as it’s entirely possible that His plan for their lives includes your involvement in one degree or another. You just finally got on board with it. (Took you long enough. Do you know how long He’s had to keep these poor people in a holding pattern? Oh well, glad you’re here. Time to get your hands dirty.)
This brings me to my second point. Be available to be interrupted. Our calendars and our schedules are not actually ours to own, we are only stewards of them. For some of us, this is a novel idea, that we don’t actually own our time but it’s true. We are only stewards of those seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, you know what I mean? Our time is on loan to us and someday we will have to give an account of ourselves to God and talk about how we used our time. Anyway, back to my point. We must always consider the possibility that God will use us as part of the answer to our prayer that He has worked out for our neighbors. Therefore, we must be available for our routine to be interrupted.
Lastly, and this is just an issue of respect more than anything. Learn your neighbor’s name and address him or her by it. Learn their spouses’ name, their kids’ names, even their dog’s name. (That last one might come in handy if the dog escapes from their yard.) It’s a simple thing but it shows or forces you to pay attention to detail and it has the potential to open doors. It’s a bridge building technique that can be used anywhere in your sphere of influence.
To wrap up, when all else fails, just pray for these people and if necessary, just pray generic stuff to start. Something like, “God I’m available to be used, please protect my community and be gracious to my neighbors.” We worship a big God who is more than capable to handle the details necessary to answer our prayer.
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to Him be glory and in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3: 20 – 21.
See you later this week.
Sam
The first has to do with us. Honestly, we don’t know how to pray for our neighbors, we don’t know what their needs are and that isn’t always our fault. It’s not like they’re volunteering information, especially if the “they” in question is a guy. The truth is, often times, guys don’t talk. We just don’t unless we have to. If you don’t believe me, look in the lease agreement that comes with us upon purchase. We have a quota for how many words we can use in a day. It’s written right there in black and white and if we go over that quota we get charged…..by the syllable. (Grunts don’t count against the quota by the way.) Yes, a man can purchase extra words if he so desires, but it’s pricey therefore, many pass, opting instead to use the free grunts and hand motions to get the job done. Okay, yes, there is a platinum plan that a person can buy whereby they can talk from the moment they wake up until the time they go to sleep about anything and everything whether they know what they are talking about or not, (You may have heard of it by its slang name, “The B.S. Upgrade.”) and some men find it to be economically feasible to purchase this upgrade, those working in sales....journalists……politicians. Those people are in the minority though so most guys don’t talk more than is necessary and we like it that way.
So, getting back to praying for your neighbors, some of whom are the male of the species, how do you do it? Invite God to get involved in the process. (This is more for your benefit than for His.) You don’t know what’s going on in your neighbor’s life but He does and He’s had a plan for these people from the time they were conceived, before that actually. Ask God to continue to work out His plan for these people. Once again, this is probably more for your benefit than for God’s as it’s entirely possible that His plan for their lives includes your involvement in one degree or another. You just finally got on board with it. (Took you long enough. Do you know how long He’s had to keep these poor people in a holding pattern? Oh well, glad you’re here. Time to get your hands dirty.)
This brings me to my second point. Be available to be interrupted. Our calendars and our schedules are not actually ours to own, we are only stewards of them. For some of us, this is a novel idea, that we don’t actually own our time but it’s true. We are only stewards of those seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, you know what I mean? Our time is on loan to us and someday we will have to give an account of ourselves to God and talk about how we used our time. Anyway, back to my point. We must always consider the possibility that God will use us as part of the answer to our prayer that He has worked out for our neighbors. Therefore, we must be available for our routine to be interrupted.
Lastly, and this is just an issue of respect more than anything. Learn your neighbor’s name and address him or her by it. Learn their spouses’ name, their kids’ names, even their dog’s name. (That last one might come in handy if the dog escapes from their yard.) It’s a simple thing but it shows or forces you to pay attention to detail and it has the potential to open doors. It’s a bridge building technique that can be used anywhere in your sphere of influence.
To wrap up, when all else fails, just pray for these people and if necessary, just pray generic stuff to start. Something like, “God I’m available to be used, please protect my community and be gracious to my neighbors.” We worship a big God who is more than capable to handle the details necessary to answer our prayer.
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to Him be glory and in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3: 20 – 21.
See you later this week.
Sam