Resources replacing God?

I just finished an awesome conversation with a friend about prayer. Both having had cross-cultural experiences before, we discussed the amazing passion for prayer we saw demonstrated across the world in far away countries. We discussed their utter dependence upon prayer in their daily lives. They never just prayed because it was on their list of things that make them Christian, they prayed because their lives and their survival literally depended on it. They desperately needed God to survive, and they acknowledged that daily in their prayer lives.

Many of you will remember reading about the overnight prayer service I attended while in Uganda. We were gathering to pray for our town, Mukono, because of the witchcraft taking place throughout the town. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had, and certainly one of the most powerful. Yet I wonder, would we ever do that here? Would people really gather all night in a church just to pray? They believed their prayers would be heard and answered, and they believed prayer was their only option.

We went on to discuss the frustrations we face as American Christians. How quickly our prayer lives grow stale. How quickly we forget about that amazing passion we saw overseas. Why is it that other nations can have such a passion for prayer, and yet we can't seem to finish a prayer without falling asleep or letting our minds wander to other less important areas? And then we figured it out. Well, maybe anyway. Look at the living situation of the Ugandans I spent four months with. What other option do they have to fulfill their needs other than prayer? If they get sick, they can't just stop by the corner drug store and buy the latest medication, they can't afford to see a doctor, so their only option for healing is prayer. If their crops are dry, they can't just turn a knob, stretch out the hose, and water them. Their only option is to ask God for rain. If their food starts to spoil, they can't just run to the grocery store and choose from hundreds of options, their only option is to pray. They really are totally dependent on God.

We are so blessed as Americans. We often take our resources for granted, as it's quite easy to forget about the world around us and how lucky we truly are. Yet sometimes I think those blessings can also be a curse. We discussed how maybe, just maybe, we can't find that passion for prayer here because we have so many other resources to try out first. Yes, being able to go to the doctor and receive treatment and medication is a wonderful thing. Watering our lawns or gardens is great. Having a variety of healthy foods to keep us well-nourished is certainly a blessing. But where does God fit in to those pictures? Yes, we pray for people when they're sick, but don't we sometimes have just as much faith in the doctors and medicine as we do in God? The truth is we are just as in need of a savior as any other nation, but maybe our abundance of resources sometimes keep us from realizing that.

And finally, we discussed how sometimes it seems we seek out every possible option before we finally decide to seek out God. The book Jesus with Dirty Feet by Don Everts describes it well. "Over and over and over Jesus repeated his message: 'You need me. You are lost, dull sheep. I am a shepherd. You are blind. I am a healer of the eyes. You are stumbling in darkness. I am light. You are starving. I am bread. You are dying of thirst. I am water.'" And while we want to think we really truly believe that we need Jesus, we fight for it. "We grow indignant to the message because we don't see our need," Everts continues. "We insist we're doing just fine on our own. Hunger? Thirst? Darkness? What are you talking about, I feel fine! We seek other answers. The Greeks sought out wisdom. The Jewish religious leaders carefully focused on law. The Romans achieved social order."

Yea, we're incredibly blessed to live in America. We're incredibly blessed to have the many resources that we do. But we have to be careful not to let those resources replace our need for God. Perhaps the reason we don't seem to find that same passion for prayer here is because we unknowingly depend on other resources rather than on God. Who knows....just something my friend and I found interesting enough to discuss, so I thought I'd share...