It was about 4:30am and we were already in the car driving
up highway 5 from the Central Valley of California to the Bay Area. My friend
Megan, a Capernaum graduate, was coming with me to help me speak to a group of churches
about how to include teens & young adults with disabilities in the church.
As we drove through the pre-sunset, pre-coffee morning, I
was so sleepy. I said , “You better pray I can keep my eyes open or we might
not make it there…” Without pausing in the conversation, without closing her
eyes, Megan began “Praise the Lord, Christen’s eyes open, get there, I love
you, God.” When she finished she looked
at me with the biggest smile and said “Smart
people pray short prayers.” When our
laughter subsided and she had shown me how to slap my cheeks to wake myself up
I was left with the thought “Smart people pray short prayers.”
I think of Megan’s prayer… no beginning or end to her
conversations with Jesus, no fancy words, just short requests given with confidence.
Part of this might be that her prayers are continual, and don’t need to be
long. What if we would learn to continually, throughout the day “pray short
prayers” with absolute confidence? What if we lived like Jesus was in the car
with us?
God, give us your vision about friends with disabilities.
Teach us. Help us grow to be more like you and to learn from one another. Use our
friends. Provide the funds and leaders needed for Capernaum. Make us love you
from our hearts. Amen
