The Lunch Break

I remember one time sitting having my lunch in a large company that I worked for. There were about 6 or 8 of us sitting around the table drinking tea and eating sandwiches. I still remember the nicknames of some of the guys there - The Clipper. Chunky. Snoopy. The Biscuit Man.

One guy, “The Clipper” (he was called this because his main job was clipping cables around the structures) said to me, “Right now. We all know that you’re a Christian. Right?” I looked at him and nodded. He went on, “How come we never see you saying grace or praying before your meals, or anything like that?”

I replied, “How do you know that I don’t say grace before my lunch?”

He said, “Well I’ve never seen you praying or heard you saying any grace before you eat”.

“That’s because I wasn’t praying to you”, I replied. A couple of the other guys just looked at The Clipper, then sniggered and nodded.

Whilst it is true that we should lead a life of testimony that reflects our devotion and dedication to Christ’s teachings, it is also true that people will never know what we truly are thinking in our minds. We continually pray throughout or days and remember our bible teachings as we go through our daily lives. And people will never see this. But Jesus does. He knows the workings of our hearts and the thoughts in our minds.

You see, it’s the silent prayers that matter the most. These are the ones that go straight through to the living Christ. Those prayers that you pray at your bedside when something serious is on your mind. Those prayers that you whisper as you lay on your bed before you fall asleep. Those prayers when you are at a sick person’s bedside, or waiting for strength to cope with a difficult person or scenario. These are the “Prayers of the Heart”.

And although they are silent they are very loud when they get to God’s ears. He alone knows the prayers that we can never pray openly and the hymns and choruses that we hum and sing to ourselves as we go through each day. So, let’s keep on praying, singing and keeping our thoughts centered on Christ.

Psalm ch19 (14)Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right spirit within me.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence;
Take not Thy holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation;
And renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm ch52 v10.
Arranged by Keith Green.

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