Pray Before You Prey

Pray Before You Prey
Milan Ford
I have a rather startling confession to make. I've been a cable television subscriber for many years now, and up until this month, if I were ever asked by someone what my favorite channels were, I would probably reply with the usual suspects: CNN, ESPN, TNT, MTV, BET, HGTV...
(HGTV? Sorry, thought I'd try picking up a few brownie points in case my wife was reading this...)
After some deep soul searching, I now realize I have a new all-time favorite channel. As a leader (and survivor) of ministry, I know of no other channel that provides the kind of programming that we as believers can learn from and be inspired by than (yep, you guessed it)...Animal Planet.
I realize that may sound a bit strange, so please allow me to explain.
Every week, the Animal Planet (channel) features incredible footage of several wild animals, ranging from sea lions to hippos, and how they seek out and target other animals to prey upon. While some of the footage can at times be gruesome to watch, the cheetah is a real thing of beauty.
And a major source of conviction for me.
Despite being one the fastest animals on land, I was surprised to discover that the cheetah will tend to prey on the weak, even though it is fast enough to prey on the strong. One would think with its incredible agility and speed, the cheetah would set its sights on larger animals or targets.
But in fact, the cheetah does the exact opposite. Another interesting fact concerning the cheetah is that while in pursuit of its prey, nearly half of its hunting attempts actually result in failure.
The reason? Because the cheetah exerts so much energy chasing after its prey, that when it finally catches up and drags its target to the ground, it has very little energy left to ward off other predators from stealing its kill. In other words, the cheetah's method of attack often makes its prey vulnerable to other predators seeking to attack.
So why did I see this as a major conviction for me?
Simply because Christians (myself included) are a lot like the cheetah. Instead of keeping our eyes on the targets God has given us the ability to pursue, we often turn our sights toward preying on the weak.
In a land filled with people who are losing their faith in God and the local church, there are times when it seems we are often consumed with preying on the weak among us, specifically, other Christians. It is amazing how our mouths often salivatewhen we read the headlines of a fallen Christian leader or pastor. Or how our ears spring up when we hear the latest gossip of a family member or friend.
When it comes to passing judgement and exposing the faults of another believer, we are often some of the fastest, wild animals alive. I'd like for us all to ponder a question that I had to ask myself recently:
Why do we prey before we pray?
Can you imagine what our world would be like if we would seek to cover one another in prayer? What would it take to grow a hunger within our hearts to look beyond the faults of our families, our churches, and perhaps, even those of our political leaders, in order to demonstrate the love that Christ has so equally shown to us all?
Is it possible to forward kindness and support to one another at the same speed we can forward an email of gossip and of malice intent? Is it possible to find comfort in knowing that God's plans of acceptance are greater than our plans of discrimination?
I encourage you today to begin to pray before you prey. May we all strive to support one another in such a way that this world cannot help but to ask how we do the things we do (1 Pet. 3:15).
I assure you, it is only through the power of prayer that these things can be accomplished

Stay Focused
and
Blessed.........................
Jan