Short Order

Have you ever heard the term short-order cook? Do you know what it means? Well, this is a term that I grew up hearing in the earlier years of my life. Heard this term in reference to what my mother did for a living for a while. She was a short-order cook. Webster defines short-order as preparing or cooking food that is done quickly to a customer's order. So, in short order means performed or supplied quickly.

Today is the day that I told you that we would deal with a case in point that had a short-term answer to a prayer. Here is the Case in Point:

Case in Point - There was a time in my younger days when I had a big problem. I had worked it every way that I knew how and it was not getting any better, in fact, it seemed to be getting worse. I went to a gospel meeting because it was my duty to go. I was listening to the preacher and I thought to myself, you know you are a really good speaker, but we both know, life does not work that simply. I remember thinking, “I wish it were that simple.” But he was like a broken record and he kept on and kept on talking about the benefits of prayer. I never will forget, I looked at him and gave him a deadpan look while thinking, “Yeah, right!”  but he talked about it so much that I decided that I would give it a try.

When I Got Home

So, when I got home and got to a quiet place I prayed about my problem. I knew it was not going to get any better, but I prayed again. Then went on to bed. Now, y’all know how we get when a problem is heavy in our hearts; we go to bed thinking about it and wake up thinking about that same problem. And that is exactly what I did. I woke up with the problem on my mind and…wait a minute! Something was different. I felt lighthearted. Then I started thinking about what had me so worried and realized the problem was still the same but, I was different! But how? I got to thinking that maybe it was because I prayed about that problem in a quiet place after I had asked for forgiveness. That was my Ah-ha moment! That was when I finally figured out what was different, I realized that I had just gotten an answered prayer!  That was short order prayer answering!  Wow, prayed one night and to have relief from worry the very next day that the problem was in check and would be alright. I had that peace that surpasseths all understanding! I was so giddy that I wanted to try something else and see if it worked on that too.

And

When that happens to you, you will do just like I did and want to pray about something else that has been bothering you and something else and something else. And before you know it, you will be enjoying talking to the Lord and you will seek audiences with Him often. Why, because you will love to pray because you have been taught to love to pray. Remember a few lesson back, I told you that I had taught my students to want to learn by teaching them to love to learn. You, my friend, will have been taught to want to pray because you learned to love to pray. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? That’s okay; it works! (Chopping My Row, pp.  110-111.)

Moving On

Tomorrow, we will finish this case in point with lessons learned and move on in our treatise on prayer. I will give you some steps for effective praying that have proven beneficial to me.