Rick Stanfield
I Can and I Will
I was in Andalusia, Alabama a few weeks ago, sitting at an old, nostalgic Dairy Queen eating my hot fudge sundae when a group of high school students walked in. They ordered, got their food and sat at the table next to me. Like all high schoolers, they were loud, laughing, and poking fun at each other. There were six of them and five grabbed their food and started scarfing the burgers down, just as I would.
But one didn’t. One young man bowed his head. He didn’t say anything, but he took ten seconds to thank God for his food. I noticed the others got quiet for a moment. They stopped their rambunctious rants for an instant, respecting this young man’s prayer.
Deuteronomy 31:6 — “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Never be ashamed of our God. Although our God is love, He didn’t intend on His children to be trampled on. If we give up on our Godly traditions, before long we’ve given in to evil. Don’t let others use our kindness to exploit their agenda.
When you’re with friends, stop to pray. When you’re told you can’t pray, stop to pray. When they explain to you, you’ll offend the non-Christians, stop to pray. At the end of the day, you answer to God, even those who don’t believe in Him. When Christians are silenced, that’s when evil is allowed to flourish. Let’s all have the courage of this high school kid in Alabama. Let’s pray, even when everyone around us isn’t. Even when it may not seem “cool”. I promise you, prayer will be “cool” again really soon.
Thank You Lord for this day. I know you’ll provide me the answers as I go. I’ll stop, breathe, pray, and act. Amen.
Rick Stanfield is a syndicated columnist, professor, motivational speaker and author. His latest book is “I Can and I Will.” For more information, visit his website at www.rickstanfield.com.