THE FOUR LEGGED PREACHER

THE FOUR LEGGED PREACHER

                My morning usually starts at around 03:30, or thereabouts and Desi (My furry friend) always gets up with me and curls at my feet to resume his sleep beside me.

                This morning was no exception as I took up my Bible. I was meditating on the subject of intercessory prayer and particularly on two parables of Jesu concerning prayer. One parable found in Luke 18:1-8 tells of a widow who kept pestering the unjust judge until he finally relented and gave her a fair hearing.

                Luke 11:5-10 holds a similar parable of a man who kept banging on his neighbors door in the middle of the night until the neighbor finally got up and unbolted the door and gave him 3 loaves of bread to feed to his guest.

                I was thinking about Jesus was saying in these parables about persistent and bold prayer, when Desi came up in front of me and started his frantic circling and huffing as he always does when he needs to make a potty run. I carefully explained that this was prayer time and not walk time and I told him that if he wanted to go now, he could use the pet door and take himself to the back yard. Well, he did go out the pet door, but in about 2 seconds he was back at my feet circling around and huffing.

                Several times I told him No. I said, “Desi, its 04:15 and its dark and cold out and you need to wait until daylight. So, fifteen minutes later as I headed out the door, coat on and flashlight in hand, I suddenly had to smile. Desi was teaching me a living lesson on persistent prayer and intercession. He had refused to give up until I too, like the judge and the sleeping neighbor, had relented and had taken him out to take care of business.

                God wants to know that we have more than a passing interest in Him. He takes our stubborn persistence and sometimes even fasting and prayer as a sign that we truly desire what we are asking for. Do we hunger after righteousness like a deer panting for water as he flees the forest fire? Do we know our own weakness and our desperate need of Him? Do we cry out consistently for that which we see lacking in ourselves? Do we cry out to God for living water to share with others so that we are imparting not just words, but spirit and life to them?

                Even a dog knows how to get his way when he has a need. And Desi got his way and we had a few moments of glory as the clear black sky above blessed us with a profusion of glorious stars and cold crisp air that awakened us to God’s presence. Thank You Lord for using my four- legged preacher to bring home the reality of your message to me in living color.

                As soon as we got back, Desi curled up and went fast asleep in his little bed beside me.