Sabbath Thought - The Difference for That One

It can become easy to think that one person doesn't really make a difference. There are presently more than 8 billion people alive on the face of the Earth. What difference can one person make? We can ask this question of ourselves with so many demands crowding into our lives. The sheer pace of life requires us to make choices and prioritize what we devote our energies to. Many times, this can even seem to happen in our spiritual lives. We know how important prayer is in our lives, but what do we pray for or about? How do we prioritize what we bring in conversation before God?

One of the overwhelming aspects of communicating so widely and quickly in this day and age is that we are so much more aware (among other things) of the needs of others in God's church. How can we pray for everyone on those lists? The simple answer is that we cannot - not effectively anyway in my estimation. So, what do we do? Do we try to cram them all in our prayer time anyway, or do we go the other direction and ignore them? There is a short story called The Star Thrower, by Loren Eiseley that illustrates a principle that can help us in knowing how to pray for one another. 

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean. He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?" The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."  "I must ask then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man. To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die." Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!" At this the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

What if, instead of quantity or ignoring the overall need, we focused on the "difference for that one?" What if there is a condition, a situation, a person that resonates with us on a more personal level and we pray more earnestly for that one? There is simply no way we could give justice to all the prayer requests, but we can make time to bring a quality prayer before God. That is still a hard choice - who to pray for - but is God more interested in quantity or quality? Is He more interested in a heart-felt, sincere prayer given as an advocate, or is He looking for us to make check marks on a list?

When I was a boy, there was another little boy in our local congregation who had contracted a very serious disease. This disease was life threatening. Surgery was an option but it would have forever negatively changed the quality of that boy's life. I prayed for the boy for weeks, not because he was a good friend or because I was told to - I prayed for that boy because I knew what it meant to be a little boy and I couldn't imagine being in his position. I prayed for him because I wanted him to have what I had. I hoped God would hear my prayer and consider another little boy's opinion. That boy was healed and didn't need the surgery. It would be arrogant to think it was my prayer alone that solicited God's intervention - but what if it was?

The prayer of faith saves the sick (James 5:15), but our love for one-another is a huge part of that equation. We can't lay down our life for everyone, but we can for a friend (John 15:13). I encourage you to make quality time so that our prayers are prayers that make a "difference for that one."

I wish you a profitable and value filled Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

13 June, 2024