Speaking His Peace

When you open up the February 2009 issue of ec, you'll see that it has a lot to do with relationships. Relationships with others, your relationship with God, your relationship with your parents. There are articles on developing godly relationships and learning to talk to God on a deeper level, to converse, to listen, to seek Him in an everyday, living, breathing relationship.

God and I have been having a lot of conversations this past week. My family and hometown was hard hit by the ice storm that blasted in to Arkansas, southeast Missouri, and western Kentucky last week. My family members lost power last Tuesday (and water for a short period of time). Power was restored to my brother's house last night during the halftime show of the Super Bowl, but my parents, who live outside the city limits, are still waiting. And may be waiting for awhile yet as crews struggle to put up new poles and restore broken power lines.

It's hard to be almost 300 miles away from your family and know that they are suffering. It's hard to sit still and enjoy your comfortably warm living room when your parents are at home cooking their food on a barbecue grill and sitting around a gas fireplace. It's hard not to worry when your nephew (who turns 3 months old this week) doesn't have power at his house. Or when your grandmother's nursing home has a generator, but not enough diesel to run it.

So God and I had some honest talks in which I implored Him to take care of my family. To keep them safe on icy roads. To give them patience with one another in the middle f a stressful situation. To know how I could help, what I could do. I didn't pray that they get the power restored, that the work crews would put my family first on the list, or anything like that. I just prayed for God's hand and continued presence to be with my family. I prayed that He would take care of them, knowing He already was. I sat in silence and listened, desperately seeking God when I couldn't even form the words.

And God's peace flowed over me. I knew He had this under control, and for one of the first times in my life, the worrier in me wasn't worried. Whatever happened, God had it covered. I was reminded once again that God is a God who knows, who hears, who acts.

That's the power of prayer in action.