I know a sister in the Lord who takes prayer very seriously. On occasions, she has gently encouraged the brothers in her congregation to make sure that everyone can hear them when praying from the front. She has also checked with the preacher when a prayer request had been forgotten. Nothing she does is done in a spirit of complaint, she cares deeply that ‘speaking to God’ is taken seriously, especially congregational prayer. She used to pose the question: “Should Christians pray for ‘safe travels’?” Some thought that she was joking, but as it turned out, she genuinely believed that Christians have more important things to pray about.
I believe that her question, in part, is answered in this verse in the Book of Ezra:
“Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions” (Ezra 8:21).
It can, of course, be argued that the travelling conditions for which WE ask the Lord for “Travelling mercies” are pure comfort compared to that which Ezra had to endure. Who among us would exchange our reliable vehicles, motorways, and food and fuel stops along the way, for camels and sand?
Ezra gives us an idea of some of the potential dangers that they faced on their four-month journey (900miles / 1,448km) between Babylon and Jerusalem:
“Then we journeyed…to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was over us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way” (Ezra 8:31).
Those of us who pray for “Travelling mercies,” whatever the travelling conditions, are doing a good thing – God must occupy part of our existence.
However, I take my sister’s point: If something really is trivial, it must never fill our prayers at the expense of the important.
“God bless your travels!”
John Staiger
0 Comments