Brussels Sprouts
“That
He would grant you, according to the riches of His
glory, to be strengthened with might through His
Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16)
Michael Mandelbaum wrote a book
called “The Ideas That
Conquered the World,” which included a story
about a young girl who was eating dinner at a
friend’s house. Her friend’s mother asked if she
liked Brussels sprouts, to which the girl replied, “Yes,
of course I like Brussels sprouts.” After
dinner, though, the mother noticed that the girl
hadn’t eaten even one sprout. “I
thought you liked Brussels sprouts,” the
friend’s mother said. “I
do,” answered the girl, “but
not enough to actually eat them.” Everyone
in humanity, in some way or another, is like the
anecdote of that young girl. We give lip service to
some idea because we know it would be good for us,
but we don’t do it because we don’t want to!
Partly due to the scoliosis of
my spine and partly from bad posture, I have been
experiencing increasing neck and back pain.
Sometimes surgery is good, but many times controlled
exercise will help a lot. Exercise includes working
at the problem until the pain is gone. A bonus is
the production of “endorphins.” These are God’s
painkillers that give you a sense of well-being,
reducing the depression that accompanies pain. But
do I want it enough to actually do it?
The problem with exercise is
not really about exercise at all. It’s actually
like the difficulty with Brussels sprouts. Though
we know we should, we don’t want to. As of today,
Jack LaLanne is still alive. He’s a physical
fitness buff who has been in the news as long as I
can remember, and he’s a staunch advocate of bodily
exercise. The other day, this 90-year old man gave
an interview, and he was asked how it was to “like
exercise?” His answer was a surprise. He
said that he did NOT like exercise. What he liked
was the FEELING of it; the RESULT after it was all
over. And something very similar is true for
prayer. We know we should do it. We see it is good
for us, and we are aware that God answers prayer,
but all too often, we don’t do it! And let’s be
honest here – it’s because we don’t want to!
Prayer in the Spirit is not
unlike the abilities of the human body. One person
may be tall and another short; some are gifted in
language whereas others aren’t, and some have
potentially large muscles while others can do less.
In prayer, there are those who are more gifted by
God in comparison with others in the Body of Christ.
Some CAN pray better than others. “God
has dealt to each one a measure of faith”
(Romans 12:3b) and faith is a necessary component of
prayer. You can actually say that prayer IS applied
faith.
When the disciples came to
Jesus, complaining they could not cast out a demon,
Jesus answered with the parable of the tiny mustard
seed – a little can do a lot. He said, “If
you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to
this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it
will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
However this kind does not go out except by prayer
and fasting” (Matthew 17:20-21). Have you
ever thought much about “faith?” Have you ever
thought you HAD faith in relation to some
situation? A lot of people have thought that the
word “faith” simply means that you are to have
positive thoughts about something, as in “I have
faith in myself that I will get the job!” That’s
not faith in the Biblical sense. The word in
Scripture carries the idea of reliance upon God -
not on ourselves or anything of this world.
“Faith” is not that you and I
believe that WE can do something, but instead, it’s
taking the problem to God and believing that HE will
do it. You can stare at a mountain all day long,
thinking about it, and that mountain will still be
there. Or you can go to the mountain with a shovel
and begin the process of moving it one shovelful at
a time, but doing it alone isn’t going to accomplish
much, and it isn’t faith, either!
It’s important to note that the
“mountain” of whatever difficulties we are
experiencing at the moment WILL move, if God WANTS
it to. That idea is expressed in 1 John 5:14-15… “If
we ask anything according to His WILL, He hears us.
And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we
know that we HAVE the petitions that we have asked
of Him.” A classic example of faith in the
Bible is found in the life of Abraham. He RESPONDED
to the revealed will of God, both in action and in
prayer. Abraham’s faith rested on God Himself.
All in the body of Christ
SHOULD pray, but just like exercise, it’s not
surprising that some do it more than others. Does
your mind wander when you pray? Think about what it
takes to go on a regimen of exercise and diet, and
apply those principles in prayer. Take your problem
to God as best you can, and He will begin in you the
process of being “strengthened
with might through His Spirit in the inner man”
(Ephesians 3:16). If you lift weights every day,
your muscles will grow. If you pray every day and
keep on praying even when you don’t want to, your
ability to pray will grow and the answers to prayer
will increase.
Note in our Scripture for
today, that all this is done “according
to the riches of HIS glory”
and it is done “through
His Spirit”
(Ephesians 3:16). In the “natural” realm, results
often come through OUR abilities, but the things of
the Lord are accomplished “through
His Spirit.” All
the Apostles and Prophets became well aware of that
difference and as Paul the Apostle put it, “when
I am weak, then I am strong”
(2 Corinthians 12:10), for it was God’s strength he
needed.
Brussels sprouts have cancer-preventing properties
like broccoli and cabbage, but many of us are not
thrilled by that prospect “enough
to actually eat them.” And we often have
similar problems in relation to exercise. We have
to want the results more than we dislike the process
that gets us there. So here’s the question in
relation to prayer: Do you WANT to pray? to REALLY
pray like George Mueller and other “saints” of
history who astonish us to this day with their
“power” in prayer? Then get started in little
ways. Here’s a suggestion: WRITE your prayers.
Write the name of the person you are praying for and
then write your goal for them. Then pray that
simple prayer to God every day until it is
answered. Let’s pray together:
Father, I don’t pray as much as
I should. My mind wanders and I don’t know what to
pray. Show me Your WILL in prayer, let me be
focused in prayer, and help me to keep on praying
until those prayers are answered. In Jesus Name.
Amen.
