So What?

So what?

Okay, we've prayed the prayer and even, for a change, actually thought about what it is we're praying.

But so what?

Do the words escape the ceiling of the room in which we pray them? Do the words penetrate any deeper into our lives than the lips that speak them? Do they?

As with any prayer, God uses this prayer to shape hearts if we will let him. The prayer reminds us of who we are and whose we are. When we pray to be used or laid aside, to have all things or have nothing, we're not giving directives to God. We're asking God to shape us, to make us new, to make us better than we are by nature.

Could it be that this prayer, prayed from a truly open heart, might make us more loving toward those who are in need? Could it be that this prayer might shape our politics and the way we view the world? Could it be that this prayer might determine the way we interact with our spouse, our children and grandchildren, and that one relative no one can really stand? Could it be that this prayer might mold our hearts so that we love more, get frustrated less and live more fully human lives? Could it be that this prayer, prayed regularly, might actually lead to the world becoming a better place...because we are becoming more Christ-like, better people.

If ever the world needed a dose of hearts that long for more of the grace of Jesus and less of the "sin that so easily entangles" (cf. Hebrews 12:1), the time is now. If ever we needed people who were solely committed to being ranked with anyone and everyone, that time is now. If ever we longed to see a world where God's people were wholeheartedly committed to him and none other, the time is now.

I'll say it again: the time is now.

So what? What difference does this covenant prayer make—in your life or in the world's ways?

I guess it depends on you. How open is your heart in allowing God to do what he needs to do in you to transform the world? Are you ready for that kind of work, that kind of change?

Amen. So be it. Let's go.