God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
Acts 17:27, NIV
So much of life’s problems would be solved by us simply seeking the Lord. I believe we go through so much unnecessary anguish holding out with the idea that we can handle it on our own. A child’s first words may be “daddy” and “no” but I’d dare to say their first sentences come out something like “I can it it by myself!” This phrase isn’t reserved for our youth, we repeat it as adults in our actions with God almost daily. Why fight to be so solemnly independent when we were created to seek the Lord and follow Him?
Our youngest son recently lost his wallet. Oh how I hate losing things. As a family, we searched and searched. We called businesses we visited on the day it went missing. We combed through their parking lots. We looked in every nook and cranny of our car. We even visited neighboring businesses to the restaurant where we ate lunch. Before the parking lot search, I prayed aloud in the car that God would help us find it. My husband prayed at another time. But the wallet was no where to be found.
We resolved to buy a replacement from the license office, but as trips to that particular office go for our family, we were missing one form of identification and would have to return the following day. We searched the car again. Nothing. My husband asked our son if he’d prayed about it. He quietly shook his head no. So of course, he prayed at that moment and then walked into his room and found his wallet stuck in a fold in his bedding!
Stories like this aren’t uncommon and I have to ask why. Why do so many have similar situations of looking and looking only to stop and pray and then POOF… there it is? I strongly believe that God wants us to seek Him in all things. ALL things! He gives us small things to practice on so we don’t forget when bigger things come along.
It’s great to pray for others but our prayers gain so much momentum with the person we’re praying for JOINS us in prayer!