What If?

We are nearly half way through our 40 days of prayer leading to Easter. Let me suggest, if you are getting tired or maybe even discouraged because you have yet to see answers to any of your prayers over the past seventeen days, don’t quit now.

You see, you have only two options: to pray or to quit praying. If you were to quit praying now, you might never know what God wanted to do had you continued until the answer came.

Have you ever heard of the counterfactual theory? The cliff’s notes version is this; it asks “what if” questions about important events. Questions like:

    What if Abraham refused to offer Isaac on the altar?

    What if Moses had not return to lead Israel out of Egypt?

    What if David had worn Saul’s armor?

    What if Joseph had not accepted the pregnant Mary?

What if I stop praying during this 40 day prayer journey? The answers are pretty obvious: the miracles would be forfeited. Seldom do we ever take the time to ponder the “what ifs” of our prayer life. I believe there are many miracles lost as people quit believing just before God is ready to do the miraculous.

As I look back over the critical moments of my life, most if not all of them would have never happened if I had not stayed faithful to my God even when it looked and felt hopeless. I wish I could take credit for the answers but I can only take credit for praying, God did the rest.

Joshua leads Israel into their new land of spiritual opportunity and blessing. The first city was Jericho, high and thick walls impenetrable by ever standard. God said to Joshua, walk around these walls.

Now consider with me the counterfactual theoretical question; “what if Israel stopped circling Jericho on lap six the day they were to circle seven times? I can hear you answer and you are right! They would have forfeited their first victory in their new land of promise. But there was too much at stake!

The good news is they didn’t and we now have the story of God’s power, tumbling walls, and encouraged people. So the moral to this “what if” thinking is simple: if you keep circling, the walls will come down and if you pray through, the breakthrough will happen!

I’ll meet you at the throne,

Pastor George