On
the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the
Lord’s Supper. Paul was preaching to
them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight. The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many
flickering lamps. As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus,
sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped
three stories to his death below. Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his
arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s
alive!” Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s
Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and
then he left. Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and
well, and everyone was greatly relieved.
Acts 20:7-12 (NLT)
"Wellie"
is our little rag mop Shih Tzu. His place, when we are in the sunroom
watching TV, is stretched-out, lying mostly comatose on the ottoman, right in
front of the couch potatoes. From that
vantage point he can survey his entire kingdom.
(Including an excellent observation point of
our unguarded snack or dinner plates; the little man is not without his darker
side!)
Anyway - on
Tuesday I spoke to my Dad, who lives in New York. He had an important doctor's appointment
Wednesday, so before we hung-up - with Dad on speaker - Elizabeth and I joined
hands and prayed for Dad's appointment.
(Wellie might have joined us, but he was
snoring on the ottoman!)
At the end
of the prayer I closed with "amen" and Wellie stretched, rolled a
bit, and fell right off the ottoman on his curly-haired head. It must've been a powerful prayer to move my
heathen dog!
Well, it
didn't require another prayer to restore Wellie to life; he shook his head a
bit to clear the fog, and was just fine.
I fear that
happens too much in our lives as followers of Jesus. We say "Amen" and roll-off to the
next thing with something of a spiritual fog as if we're not expecting God to
show up.
That's so
different than the way Paul prayed. When
the young man, Eutychus rolled out of a third story window, it was a time to
expect God to show up, or call the undertaker.
For You Today
What is
there about your prayer life you would change after hearing about Eutychus?
Are you wide
awake now?
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