A good friend of mine adopted six special needs children, both locally and internationally. Her faithfulness to God is a witness to everyone around her. I remember at the time, decades ago now, when in the midst of her very real struggles, people were empathetic, but often commented, “Well, you know, she’s just a special person.”
Another friend has endured the passing of two children to a rare disease. People around her grieved and cared deeply for her in her loss. But again, they would say even to her, “You’re just a strong person.”
The halos, that others drew around their heads like crowns for royalty, personified a designation of special powers like capes in an Avengers movie. You know, she’s special. You know, she’s just strong.
But that designation, even given to Mary, places these saints in a different sacred sphere, and allows us to discount our own appointments. Those people are special. They have halos. I do not.
But they are not any different than us. Do I excuse myself from God’s will, or work, or responding to His voice, because well, you know, I’m not like them. I’m just an ordinary person.
Ordinary does not appear in God’s lexicon. God calls each of us to Him. Halos are not required. Just faithfulness.
Our desire for a deeper relationship with God and developing a strong spiritual life becomes like a phantom pursuit of somedays – someday I’ll exercise more, shun Oreos, be kinder in the grocery line, or maybe even volunteer in the church nursery.
Someday, I will pray more.
Living saints don’t wear halos. Ain’t nobody got time for that. They are not specially venerated people, nor idealized, nor perfect.
We are all saints. God calls us all to be faithful to Him.
Consistent prayer builds that kind of faithfulness into our lives. Praying doesn’t change us. God changes us through praying. I cannot change others nor circumstances, but I can pray all I want. Not a skill. Not even an acquired taste. Not a special gift. But an intentional abiding in Him.
No secret formula. If we want to pray more, pray more.
To You, O LORD, I call. Joel 1. 19
We underestimate how God calls us to pray for others and the impact of prayer on someone’s life. The laws of darkness are suspended. Prayer creates the spaces to heal and grow. Prayer underlines the hope on which we stake our lives. Even in the process of praying, no matter what or who we are praying for, we are saying in so many words: I know Who You are.
All through the Scriptures, God appointed unexpected people for His phenomenal purposes. No halo necessary. No excuses.
We too are those unexpected people God appoints. To us, He still promises, “I am with you.”
Which is what Christmas means: Immanuel, God with us.
We can trust God, not for circumstances, nor for a particular outcome. But trust God, in each and every instance –the hardships, the sufferings, even in the I-don’t-get-this, God.
Examine the lives of the godly people you have known. Neither halos nor capes are found in their closets. Prayer is not a casual option to them. To know them is to know praying is an active verb. Prayer is woven seamlessly and intentionally into their words, actions, and attitudes. And with each day, God’s promise “I am with you” is engraved ever deeper into their hearts.
Christmas was not just the arrival of a child, but the fulfillment of God’s promises for a Redeemer, prophesied for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Christmas is still not an event, but a reminder: God is with us.
Keeping that in mind, may God help us to pray with the profound truth of His Presence in our hearts. No halos necessary.
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