{"id":817,"date":"2019-05-18T18:54:29","date_gmt":"2019-05-18T15:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jacob.zikusooka.com\/?p=817"},"modified":"2019-10-27T18:56:35","modified_gmt":"2019-10-27T15:56:35","slug":"817","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacob.zikusooka.com\/?p=817","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"
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When my teenage daughter was 5, she threw down the gauntlet in my direction.<\/p>\n

It had to do with our noise-vending neighbor who played music late into the night. It got so bad that I regularly found myself humming their two playlists (one country, the other hard rock) in the middle of work meetings. Their son even had a bumper sticker on his car that boldly proclaimed \u201cThe Party Starts Here.\u201d And oh, did it! That young man\u2019s arrival at his folks\u2019 gate was always heralded by the boom-boom-boom of his car speakers. The standard response to my every plea for some peace and quiet was the polar opposite – increased decibel levels. I suppose their intention was to break my will, just like Pharaoh routinely did when the children of Israel beseeched him to lessen their load of labor.<\/p>\n

Late one night after putting my daughter\u2019s toys away and doing that one last bed tuck-in, I very lightly put my hand on her head and started to pray (like I always do).<\/p>\n

\u201cDaddy.\u201d She whispered under her soft breathing.<\/p>\n

I was startled. I thought she was fast asleep.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Sweetheart,\u201d I managed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have always said God answers prayer, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Sweetheart, God is happy to hear His children talk to Him, and even ask Him for help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk Daddy. Can you ask Him to stop that music NOW so that I can sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure!\u201d I muttered. And proceeded to pray a 40 second prayer.<\/p>\n

That one incident has stayed with me. Will never leave me. As soon as we said \u201cAmen,\u201d BoOM! There was a loud thud and the music stopped. And it didn\u2019t come back on for the rest of the night.<\/p>\n

So today, the weather forecast said it would rain all day. That would have been nice and dandy only that my just turning-10 year old daughter had a party with outdoor activity planned. I found her worryingly looking at the forecast with her big sister. I told them to look up, and shall we, perhaps, pray about it?<\/p>\n

Does God answer prayer? He does. May be not the way we understand \u201cAnswer.\u201d And He certainly does not have the \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d \u201cLater.\u201d Or even \u201cMay be\u201d categories. No, those are our metrics, not God\u2019s. In our feeble quest to find method in the madness of our existence, we apply our finite wisdom in an attempt to understand (and explain) a God who is by all measure, way beyond comprehension.<\/p>\n

Reminds me of the wisdom of an aging saint who was on death-row in a Roman prison:<\/p>\n

Do not fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God\u2019s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It\u2019s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.<\/p>\n

PS. I just tucked the little 10 year old princess into her bed. After we gave thanks, I casually asked: Had a good day, Sweetheart? Her answer? That was my best party ever!<\/p>\n

PPS. The rain stopped at exactly 2pm: our invite time. Just as the sun cleared through the clouds a few minutes later, our first little guest walked in through the door. If that is not God.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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