Burst Into Flames: A Parable

by Richard McInteer

As Blake went to work and got into his day, he couldn't stop thinking about how incredibly awesome God was. As he proceeded in his normal work activities, he though today was like his first day at work after he had met Elaine, where he had something so very special in his life, but nobody else could really appreciate it. Even all the negative talk about the ogre coming couldn't dampen his enthusiasm. He eagerly anticipated having lunch with Andy, so he could share his experience with somebody.

  As Andy and Blake began walking to the pizza shop for their lunch, Blake jumped right in, “You would not believe how awesome last night was!”

  Andy replied, “I thought you were just going to some boring prayer meeting, but you sound like you met a girl or something.”

  “That's funny,” Blake laughed, “I almost feel like I did when I met Elaine, but that isn't it. The prayer thing I went to was nothing like boring. It was absolutely incredible.”

  “Really?”

  “I have never encountered God in such a powerful way. The group of, I don't know, maybe 9 people all were praying for Nikki's druggie sister. We all stood, held hands and prayed and it was beyond words. It was like God was there in amazing power, right there in the room. I guess we prayed for hours, but it seemed like no time at all had passed. As we prayed for God to take the addiction away from this girl, Nikki's sister showed up at the door in tears and ready to give up her drugs. This unimaginable power had pulled her right out of whatever she had been doing, sliced right through all her justifications that what she was doing was OK, and brought her to Nikki's house with a repentant heart! If that wasn't incredible enough, not one of us was surprised. We prayed, God heard, and it was as good as done. I have never experienced anything like that in all my life.”

  Andy said, “Let me get this straight, this girl is addicted to drugs and has just been getting worse. You guys pray and suddenly she is ready to give them up?”

  Blake grinned, “Yup. God intervened, jumping right in between this gal and the drugs she had been so dependent on. If you had experienced the power that moved in Nikki's living room, you wouldn't have been surprised at anything, but it is still a massive thrill to see the results. Nikki had been so worried about her sister and her niece. To see God move in this situation is just so awesome!”

  “You keep talking about the power,” asked Andy, “what was that like?”

  “Gosh...um...well, I know that there have been a few times when I have prayed when I felt God's presence really obvious. If you take the best of those and multiply it time 50 or 100, then you are getting close. There was something that, like, flowed through our hands as we were joined in a circle holding hands. It was like a current flowing through, but not painful like getting an electrical shock, but still flowing through and around. I don't think I am doing this justice…there just isn't anything I can relate this to. It was like a cross between your first kiss and riding a roller coaster...no it isn't really. It made me feel like anything was possible. It was...I don't know...it was just wild. I can't explain it.”

  Andy asked, “So these people, were they like ministers or something?”

  “I don't really know much about them. I got there just as they were about to start and didn't really have much chance to talk to anybody before we prayed and after we prayed, little details like occupations seemed insignificant. They looked like just regular people. I wouldn't have guessed there was anything particularly unusual about them. They ranged from 20's to maybe 60 years old. There was one foreign looking guy. I was just completely blown away by what happened when this group began to pray. What they must have all had, was a lot of faith.”

  Andy grinned as he said, “Do think we could get them to pray for me a few million dollars?”

  “I don't think it works that way.” said Blake. “It’s kind of interesting, how it was explained to me. To see answers to prayer, we need to have faith in the real God, our King and Master, like in the Bible. If we are just interested in stuff to make ourselves happy, we don't really have the faith and trust in God, we are worshiping 'self' instead of the real God.”

  “OK, then, maybe not cash. Do you think they could pray something about the ogre coming, perhaps he could get a better offer. Yes, that's it! We are looking out for his best interest. We want this guy to find a better job, someplace else.”

  Blake laughed, “I don't think that trying to fool God is a really good plan.”

  “I guess not,” said Andy, “but this whole thing has me concerned. I really don't have any good job prospects, I don't really even want to leave the company. This guy just sounds so awful to work for. Last night I got on a job hunting website. It just seems like anything descent requires relocating. That sounds like a terrible prospect, too.”

  “I am trying not to worry about it. I believe God will take care of me.”

  Andy said, “That is either admirable or stupid, but at this point, I don't know which.”