God, Please Wipe the Mud Off My Coat

We had been teaching our youngest daughter, Susan, the importance of prayer. We had also been emphasizing to her that our God is truly a prayer-answering God. On another front, we were also teaching her to take care of her clothes, particularly the new coat we had just purchased for her to wear to school.

With the warning, "Don't get your new coat dirty" we had left Susan, who was probably six or seven years old at the time, with her grandmother. As usual, they had a great time together but, when it was time for her to return home, Susan became unusually quiet. Watching in the rearview mirror, my mother could see Susan praying. She would pray and then look at her new coat. After repeating that several times, Susan finally said "Grandmama, God didn't answer my prayer". Still driving, but probably somewhat slower, grandmama wisely asked "What was your prayer, Susan?" "Well", she said, "I asked God to wipe the mud off my coat but it's still there." It certainly became a teachable moment as my mother explained to Susan that God expects us to do what we can do for ourselves.

In some ways, that is a sweet and funny little story. In other ways, it reminds me of stories we so often hear in counseling - stories of people who want life to be better, who want happiness, who want out of financial bondage, who want their marriages to be better, who want the dirt and filth wiped away from their lives - but do not want to take any action themselves. They expect God or their spouse or their church or someone else to "wipe the mud off their coats" while they go on making sinful choices and not forsaking the sins which only they can deal with. How sad it is to tell someone to "humble your self and pray and seek God's face and turn from your wicked ways" and then watch them walk away mad at God because He didn't "fix" their problem.

Do you know someone who is a Christian and yet is struggling and feels that God has not answered their prayer? Perhaps you could speak an encouraging word to them. Encourage them to be certain they have wiped the sin off their heart before accusing God of not caring. Teach them that God cares too much for His children to do for them those things He has commanded them to do for themselves. Show them how to examine themselves to make certain they are in the faith. For those who are perhaps good, churchy folks but not really lovers of Christ, the prayer to which God responds is "God be merciful to me, a sinner".

If we can ever help you or those you love, feel free to contact us.