Lincoln: Prayer and action in the little things

Prayer often clarifies our vision of what needs to be done, but we should not expect to emerge from prayer with a lightening bolt of divine insight. The interplay of prayer and action is usually more subtle. Usually the understanding of one’s task unfolds gradually as a sense of reverence, and prayerfulness starts to permeate our life as a whole.

Psychologist, Ira Progoff, relates an event in the life of Abraham Lincoln that reveals the subtle, yet profound connections between prayer and action. Lincoln had a rich prayer life and he’s regarded as one of our most spiritual presidents. In his early years he had intimations that meaningful work lay ahead for him, but that he would have to refine his intellect and acquire professional skills if he was to fulfill his destiny. In his frontier environment, however, few tools or opportunities for professional development were available and Lincoln feared that his hopes would never be fulfilled. One day a stranger came by with a barrel full of odds and ends and old newspapers and he offered to sell the lot to Lincoln for a dollar. Realizing the man was needy, Lincoln, with his characteristic kindness, gave him a dollar, although he had no idea how the barrel’s contents would ever be of use. When he later cleared out the barrel, he found among the junk, an almost complete edition of Blackstone’s Commentaries. These books helped Lincoln become a lawyer, and eventually enter politics. The reverence Lincoln felt for others, which are often the fruits of prayer, created an opening for a life changing event, that otherwise might not have happened. You see Lincoln did not get zapped during prayer with a sudden revelation of his life’s work. Humble ingredients: a barrel of junk, a stranger down on his luck, a dollar, and Lincoln’s innate compassion, combined unspectacularly to help shape the destiny of a nation and affect millions of lives.

I suggest that Lincoln’s prayerfulness made him sensitive enough to respond to a nudge from the Holy Spirit to buy a box of junk. Who knows what God can do in a life prepared by prayer? Who knows what God could do in your life if you were prepared?

Don’t you sometimes feel an itch that begins with questions like: “Is there more to life than what I’m experiencing?” “Is the meaning to my life gone now that I am retired/my children are grown?” If you are looking for answers to questions like these, talking to your pastor is a good place to begin. There are also several good “itch-scratching” programs you might plug into like Sunday school, Companions in Christ, Disciple Bible, Emmaus walks, mission work and many more that can help you explore the changing meaning and purpose of your life. Maybe the itch you feel is to start a class or program that will scratch someone else’s itch.

One last thought, perhaps you have moved beyond the resources of your local church. Check out the seminaries in your area or the religion departments of your local colleges. Think about it, pray about it and act.