War Cry - July 7, 2012 Page 22

The War Cry | July 7, 2012

MAJOR JIM MCGEE

A S I D R E W T H E W O R S H I P S E R V I C E

at the Salvation Army Corps to a

close, I asked the congregation to join me in the Lord's Prayer. Mixed in with
the words "Our Father who art in Heaven" I could hear muffled laughter
coming from the left of the chapel. While the congregation continued to pray,
I strained to see what was going on. A little girl was kneeling beside the pew
and praying, except she wasn't saying the Lord's Prayer. She was singing
the ABC song. She finished her prayer/song with the words, "Now that I
know my ABCs, what do you think of me? Amen."

An old Jewish Chasidic story recounts virtually the same thing. A poor

uneducated Jew wanted to pray, but did not speak Hebrew. He knew the
Hebrew alphabet, but that was all. So while attending the synagogue
one day he began to repeat the alphabet over and over again. The
rabbi stopped him and asked, "What are you doing?

"He knows what is in my heart," the man replied. "I give

Him the letters, and He puts the words together."

Prayer is a vital part of our lives as Christians. It

is not so much that we speak to God, but that we stop
and listen to God for His direction in our lives.

That little girl in church didn't know what

words to say, but her heart was in the right
place. Sometimes life comes at us so hard that
we don't stop to pray because we simply don't
know where to begin. But we can remember
our ABCs of faith, that God is

Almighty,

Benevolent,

Caring.

He will put the words right in
our alphabet song of prayer.

Major Jim McGee is the senior
writer for the Southern Spirit.

Bless Me Lord,

I Know My

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