B.J. Murrey - World Orphans, Central America

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It really is comforting to be able to look back and see things clearly & objectively. As Christians, we often ask in prayer for God’s will to “be revealed” to us. Although this sounds benign & biblical, it is really us disguising our demand that God tell us all He is going to do so that we don’t have to have patience, faith, or trust. God’s decreed will has already been revealed to us in His Word, but it is His permissive will that we all seem to struggle with understanding. Which job is right for me? Whom do I marry? Is this a good decision?  I was reminded of this dilemma on my recent trip to Guatemala with the guys from World Orphans.Prior to leaving, I wrote asking you all to pray for the following:

“What are the biggest concerns for this upcoming trip to Guatemala? Many potential problems could come up during this trip. We need prayer for safe travels – Guatemala boasts a high crime rate. We need prayer for effective transportation so that we can make the most of our time. We need prayer for divine appointments so that we can quickly integrate into the region with the favor of the people and government. I personally need your prayerful support for fundraising to be successful to cover the cost of ministry and relocation.”

Upon my return from a successful & profitable trip to Guatemala, I re-read these words. Immediately I was humbled, and my mouth was silenced. It was as if I were punched in the gut and had the wind knocked out of me. Have you ever felt the presence of God so plainly that you couldn’t move, nor utter a sound? Ever been so aware of God’s hand on your shoulder that all you could do was enjoy the warmth & comfort of His fatherly touch? Now you can begin to understand my experience as I re-read these words.

It struck me that I had prayed these prayers, almost as if I were pestering God, not really expecting Him to incline His ear & hear me. They were genuine needs, but half-hearted utterances, at least on my part. I want to recap each request briefly so you can share with me the faithfulness of God to answer the prayers of His children.

1.       Prayer for safe travels.
Despite an aggravated police shootout with (most likely) a gang outside of the Seminary where we were staying, not one of us had any brush with crime, violence, or danger of any kind.

2.       Effective transportation.
We quickly found a faithful taxi driver, Humberto, who was kind, patient, reliable and friendly. We used him everywhere we went, and called him often for directions or advice when we weren’t with him. Not once did we have any breakdowns, or other transportation problems.

3.        Divine appointments.
Some aspects of our trip didn’t pan out. This blessing of free time paved the way for me to meet two wonderful people with whom I will have much contact when I am in Guatemala. In fact I will now be living with one of these two people initially when I arrive in Guatemala City. One is a psychologist and the other a lawyer. Both are already working with orphans & are excited about our work in the country. Both professions will be infinitely useful to us in the pursuit of our work in Guatemala.

4.       Prayer support & Financial Support.
While I was away, I received an updated fundraising report from World Orphans indicating that I was incredibly close to having the number of monthly supporters required for me to head down to Guatemala. Also, on this trip, several people that I don’t know contacted me via email offering one-time donations and prayers, encouraged by the work we are pursuing in the region. Thank you Lord!

As I mentioned previously, hindsight is a wonderful thing. We can only truly know what God’s permissive will for our lives is after the fact. The mystery of the mind of God is not something we are not capable of handling apart from God’s revelation in small doses. He does this not so that we worry, or fret about the future & the unknown, but so that we learn to trust Him to provide exceedingly abundantly above all we could have ever hoped for.

As an American, I feel especially susceptible to trying to usurp God’s authority, forsaking patient prayer & taking matters into my own hands, primarily because I have been culturally indoctrinated to have faith in my abilities and in my possessions. This thinly-veiled form of idolatry bends the knee to material security rather than to our omnipotent, omniscient, omni-benevolent Creator-Father. I am convinced from scripture that the purpose of prayer is not to twist God’s arm into submission to our will, but is the means by which God conforms the desires of our hearts to His will. After all, who could possibly better know what His children need than their Father?