"The Short and Long of It"

 

“The Short and Long of It”

 

Many sports have short and long elements. For example:

*In baseball a bunt single and 450 foot home run each count as one base hit for average purposes.

*In football a six inch pass or run and a 99 yard pass or run each brings six points for a touchdown.

*In golf a one inch putt and a 350 yard drive each count as one stroke on a scorecard.

*In basketball a field goal is two points whether it’s a layup or just in front of the three point line.

This fall the Men’s Bible Study Fellowship in our community began a discussion of a section of Scripture usually called the Minor Prophets. (It’s their short length, not the value of their content, which has led to this somewhat misleading designation.) We’ve seen above that just as sports have short and long parts of their games God’s prophets have short and long aspects of their messages. For instance, Micah rebukes Israel’s and Judah’s leaders of his day for leading the people away from God (“…The prophets…lead my people astray….”—3:5); speaks of deliverance from their enemies (“…The Lord will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies….”—4:10) which came true a few years later; and tells of the coming of their Messiah (“…Out of {Bethlehem} will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel….”—5:2) after some seven centuries had passed. So in reading prophecy do so with an understanding of whether God’s servant is speaking to his own day, the near future or distant times. (A suggested resource is Warren Wiersbe’s “Be” series of practical commentaries on the Bible.)

The same principle can apply to prayer. God responds to our requests by saying yes, no or not now (in other words, He might chose to answer soon or later). Paul experienced all three: His coworker Epaphroditus was healed (Philippians 2:25-30); he himself wasn’t (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) and God closed two doors to ministry before opening the one to Macedonia (Acts 16:6-10). A parable Jesus told on prayer describes its purpose: “…To show…that (we) should always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1). So let’s not stop when the “short” doesn’t happen—let’s continue with the “long” until the answer becomes clear.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan