Apr 26, 2018
by Xander Post
There have been a lot of things that have greatly upset me recently. The amount of sorrow in the world. And the chaos that sometimes has the power to take control. I can get really, really scared sometimes. Some things have a tendency to keep me up at night. I feel the need to pray occasionally. I pray for strength, wisdom, and protection. Pray. God will protect us, do not worry!
Deuteronomy 31:6:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
No matter what is going on in your life, God is right here. He has never left. So be courageous, and spread the good news.
by Joshua Coleman
As many of you know, I have been running track for many years now. The sport has been an immense influence on my life…mainly because it is so demanding that I don’t have time to do anything else. Over my Jr. High and High School track career, I have grown personally, physically, spiritually, and mentally twice as fast as in the 12 years before. After a surprisingly successful cross country season, my mother approached me to tell me something she had heard from the Lord. “Josh,” she said, “God has told me this is your year.” As soon as I heard that I was ecstatic. My year? Indoor and outdoor track is going to be fantastic!
At the start of what I expected to be the greatest indoor season of my life, I expected to improve my 800m time by about 5 seconds. Then I proceeded to only improve by maybe half a second—and I can honestly say this was probably the worst indoor season I’ve ever had. While this seemed contradictory to what my mother had told me, we all know that God works in ways that we never expect. You see, we have a tradition on our 4x400m and 4x800m relays. Before each race, as we stood in the paddock near the starting line, I or one of my teammates would gesture to the others and we would come together and pray. We would pray for strength and stamina. We would pray for energy and safety. No matter what we prayed for, prayer always came first.
It has been amazing to watch the effect this action has had on the team. At first, It was mainly the guys’ relays that prayed before the races. As time went on, more and more people began to join in the tradition of praying first. I remember, during my junior year, there was a time when both the guys’ and girls’ relays prayed together. This past cross country season, the entire guys cross country team came together in a time of prayer before our race. During States this year, I stayed in a hotel room with two of my teammates. Before we went to bed, I decided to pull out a Bible to read verses and pray. I expected to pray by myself as my friends got ready to sleep, but was surprised when they both asked me to read the Bible out loud to them.
I’m not telling you this to brag about our growth as people or to tell about the strong bonds we share. I’m doing this to remind us all that prayer comes first in everything we do, and should be continuous. For, as I Thessalonians 5:17-18 states, “Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” This principle should be ingrained in the minds of every Christian, and I think it has been in our church. But in a time when churches are losing people faster than people are turning to Christ—a time when people leave churches because they do not believe the same principles as our government—a time when politicians are unwilling to compromise, not because they are fighting for what’s right, but because money speaks louder than their own conscience—we must hold to this idea. So I encourage you: go out and do everything God calls you to do. But beforehand, pray. You’ll be surprised by the profound effect it will have on the lives of you and the people around you.