I had this friend one time with political bumper stickers all over his car. The amazing thing was that every candidate this guy ever slapped on his car bumper, won. His track record was so amazing that I thought he was either into tarot cards or had just waxed his Ouija board. I finally asked him how he did it and he said: "I put the bumper stickers on after the elections."

The longer people walk with God, the more they shut up and listen to those who are smarter than they are. Shutting up, they hear better. Hearing better, they learn. Learning, they buy the right bumper stickers. Buying the right bumper stickers, they pray and appear as geniuses. Or at least very spiritual. Because when one prays for what God wants, it always happens.

The ignorance of people who think: We moved God, or: We broke through to the blessed life; proud, small people who embrace the relative and ignore the absolute; who drool at the knothole and never become mature enough to look over the fence. I challenge these people: Wake up to your creaturehood and expand your view. You do not move God, He moves you. Prayer doesn’t move God, God moves prayer. See the big picture. You are not driving the car, you are participating in the journey. Snap out of it; you’re merely touching the steering wheel of God’s car.

Pray wildly if you have to. If your heart is breaking, don’t try to fashion your words or pray intelligently. Just pour out your heart to God. This is my recommendation even if you do have specific and selfish requests. In Philippians 4:6, the apostle Paul says: "In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." How can you be thankful for trouble? You can’t, at least not while you’re going through it. In this context, however, I believe the thing you’re supposed to be thankful for is the opportunity to lay your worry on God. Because look at the very next thing Paul says: "Do not worry about anything."

The National Day of Prayer falls on the first Thursday of every May. This is a special day when every Christian in the United States of America is supposed to seek God’s guidance and blessing on the good ol’ U.S.A. Can you imagine how many prayers Shirley has to captain that day? As I said, I fear for her health. Shirley must feel on the first Friday in May like Santa Claus feels on December 26th.