Learn to Pray for Tackle Boxes

Learn to Pray for Tackle Boxes!!

Just recently our church Bethel Bible celebrated its 2^nd year anniversary.  So in honor of the occasion we had a church retreat.  At this time, we are still a small church and are able to do these incredibly cool things like go tent camping in November at Roosevelt Lake.  Although it was cold at night we all bundled up and kept warm by the camp fire singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord.

During the day it was so calm, peaceful and completely serene, just the time and place to do a little fishing.  Well for those of you who do that.  The water was just a short hike down the mountain and the lake was nearly deserted. So well equipped with a tackle box, a couple of fishing poles, and corn as bait one of the gentleman made his way to the water’s edge and spent a good amount of his day fishing. And since Bethel seemed to be the only group of people brave enough to be camping, it seemed completely logical to leave the poles and tackle box near the water’s edge for another round of fishing after a break.  Well much to our surprise when He returned the tackle box had been taken.  This of course was not the end of the world but a total bummer… right?

 Well Kevin has been preaching through the book of Ephesians and was just finishing up in chapter 6 on spiritual warfare and at this time He had landed on the offensive weapon of prayer.  Encouraging us with the idea of 3-D prayer from the text, Pray for the saints, Pray for the preaching of the gospel, and Pray for the unbelieving.  He had given some incredible examples of answered prayer some very large, like millions of dollars of medicine being given to heal the sick in Africa, and some simple, God helping a little girl find a lost earring after Kay Arthur had prayed with her. Kevin very enthusiastically told us to pray at all times for everything, assuring us our heavenly Father is that intimate with us.  So right there in his message he stopped and in faith asked God to bring the tackle box back.  Of course, I am thinking are you crazy we are all leaving after this message in about an hour or so how could it be possible to get it back before we head out, but it was a kind gesture anyway... right?

You know what I am about to tell you don’t you? Just as all the festivities were wrapping up and all of us wonderful brave campers were finishing packing and making plans to hit the road, a car drives up, out jumps a kid and returns the tackle box, right there in front of us all.  No one had left that campsite without knowing that the tackle box was back!!  We were so excited!  God had just showed Himself to us in such a real way to grow our faith and He didn’t have to but He chose to and it left a mark on us all.  What a wonderful way to close out the retreat. 

I know it may seem like a small trivial thing but oh not to us, not to us!!  So I say what is your tackle box? Will you lift it to your Father in heaven who cares deeply for you?  I promise you can trust Him.  You know that I am not talking about praying to get what you selfishly want or trying to manipulate Him.  I am encouraging you to pray like crazy for everything and trust your Father.  He says in Psalm 139, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. “   He has that many thoughts about you and all of them He says are precious.  He is our Father and He will never be little what is important to us.  He longs for us to trust Him and acknowledge Him in all our ways.  So go on and do some tackle box praying!!

Psalm 5:3

“In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning, I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.”