Your mission, should you accept it…
It sounds like a line from a movie, but maybe there is more to that statement than you would guess.
Ever had someone come along at just the right time to be the answer to your prayer? Coincidence? Maybe not.
We get so focused on projecting our prayers and wishes that we fail to listen for answers. Maybe those answers come in the form of other people appearing in our lives at just the right moment.
Although we may have free will, that does not preclude the possibility that God nudges us in the right direction. Is it possible that God, like any caring parent, makes choices as to which problems are best left to us to solve, and which problems are appropriately subject to His influence?
Our knee-jerk reaction would likely be that, when we are in most dire need, it seems that there is no response from God. It seems contrary to human logic that God would ignore our most urgent needs, yet answer less important matters. To us, that makes no sense.
Once again, we need to acknowledge that our judgment comes from our human experience. Our judgment comes from human interpretation. And that interpretation is limited more by what we don’t know as it is by what we know. In other words, we don’t have access to all the facts.
Perhaps it is the act of working through those difficult moments that is most important to our spiritual growth.
So, what are the criteria that determine when God acts on our behalf?
Perhaps the criteria are simply those subtle but critical moments that we don’t even realize are important. Perhaps it is simply those moments when our prayers are quiet thoughts unhindered by the din of our emotions. Perhaps it is then that God nudges us in the right direction by using another person to help or guide us.
Perhaps those moments when you feel compelled to reach out a helping hand to another is God’s way of answering someone else’s prayer. Likewise, when someone appears in your life at just the right time, with just what you need to calm your soul, it is God’s response to what you really need at that moment.
Most importantly, maybe the answers we hear, the urges we feel clothed in love, are the answers to someone else’s prayers.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to be the answer to someone’s unspoken prayer.