He Wept, Amen

Step your game up with your heavenly pleas. Invoke his holy name with some purpose and conviction. Basically, stop begging the Lord for "stuff". He will give you exactly what you need. Remember, he promised you your daily bread. Nothing more. You've got to work hard for the extras. Its called grindin'. I have to remind myself of this everyday.

Please, save those trivial prayers for your favorite team to win a pennant or division title; don't be prayin' for the Stanley Cup or the Vince Lombardi Trophy to roll through your city. Divine requests are not meant to stop your baby from pickin' boogers in church or your teenager from doing K.att W.illiams impressions in class. The Almighty is not gonna make the McRib sandwich a permanent fixture on Micky D's menu. The Holy Spirit is not gonna provide you money to get a new lacefront or enough loot for some rims. "Lawd, please" is not gonna make traffic move any faster or cause your boss or spouse to disappear into thin air.

We need fervent and sanctified prayers for some real things. Little Chinese girls aren't pretty enough to sing on international airwaves. Ok, seriously, folks are falling into trouble, the economy is in a tailspin, and need I remind you that there is still world hunger, drought, AIDS, war, and criminal miseducation of our youth. Clutch your Jesus piece for THESE things.

And by all means, if you want to send a few extras upward for the Obama campaign and family, I think that will be just fine. Go right ahead.

Shalom

The Maven