The value of questions…
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Heb. 11:1 ESV)
One of my favorite regular Saturday Night Live Skits involved Rosanna Rosanna Danna. She would begin the skit expressing great anger (or at least angst) about some current events issue, but with some clear misunderstanding. For instance, she once complained about “too much violins on television.” Then eventually, she understood that she should have said, “too much VIOLENCE” on television. She usually concluded her false and foolish tirade with a blank look at the camera, and the phrase, “never mind.”
I remembered her this morning. I received an email asking: “Are we praying too much for education?” My mind raced through the implications and inferences found in that question. Can we pray too much for ANYTHING? Is the question intended to spur us on to ACTION instead of mere prayer? Should we in fact be starting a revolution AGAINST our present educational system, instead of praying FOR it?
What did the author mean?
And then I looked more closely… and saw that the email read: “Are we PAYING too much for education?”
Never mind.
But in the end, I had a pleasant few minutes contemplating Prayer and Current Events. I was challenged to increase my reliance on prayer as powerful. I was encouraged to pray in faith, rather than knowledge. I was reminded how often I form opinions before I pray. I decided that we have many means of ‘praying without ceasing.’
Even my silly misunderstandings can lead to truth…