I’ve been reminded often, over the last two months, of a quote from Shadowlands, the movie about C.S. Lewis’s relationship with Joy Gresham (quoted from memory, so I’m probably butchering it): “We do not change God through prayer; prayer changes us.”
There isn’t a written reference of Lewis saying this, word for word, but it is a concise distillation of his view of prayer. Andrea and I have had a number of struggles while preparing for this trip: needing to raise over $4000; going from one car and a borrowed truck, to a borrowed truck; trying to figure out what Andrea would be doing for work when we get back, as her current nannying gig will be over when we leave (today is her last day).
The latest test of faith ended today. We sent her passport renewal application off almost 14 weeks ago, with the intent of changing her name. We started calling the passport agency two weeks ago, and kept being told that it was in process, and that requests to expedite were being sent through. Finally, on Monday, at T-minus-4 days, we followed the recommendation of a couple of friends and contacted Marsha Blackburn‘s office to see what they could do. Within a couple of hours, Andrea was talking to a compassionate staffer. The next morning, we had a FedEx tracking number, and now I have her passport in hand.
So what does this have to do with prayer? Everything.
In each of these circumstances, we’ve been driven to desperation, and after spending time being anxious, we finally do what we should have done in the first place: come before God, confessing his sovereignty (which is both praise to him, and reminding ourselves of what we know and should be believing), and laying our needs before him.
I firmly believe that it was God leading us to use the means before us, whether it was sending out support letters, or being open and vulnerable to our friends, or contacting our Congressman’s office. All of this has been God’s method to provide what we need, just as he uses our jobs to provide finances, grocery stores to provide food, our homes to provide shelter. All is under the hand of God, and by his mercy.