March 8, 2010

I heard something about boiling water yesterday that impacted me. The more I thought about it, the more I realized. You put water in a pan and put it on the stove. You turn on the heat and wait. Have you heard it said before that a watched pot does not boil? That is because it can seem like such a slow process when you are watching it every moment and waiting, especially if you're in a hurry. The water is heating up along that process, but won't do the job until it boils. Water reaches its boiling point at 212 degrees F at sea level. 

We can think of our prayers in the same way. We can put our thoughts together and pray just the way we are supposed to. We watch and wait, and sometimes it seems to take so much longer while we watch in anticipation. It seems like enough time has gone by with the heat on... we should see some bubbles at the least! We are in a hurry! What if we lost patience and gave up? What if we got to Heaven and God said that we were just one degree away from the boiling point? We were at 211 degrees... but that one degree made a difference and we gave up. Just one more prayer would have done it. How would we feel? With the steam from boiling water, steam engines can get their power. Huge machinery can run from it. But not before it boils. That one degree makes such a difference.

But I read today that the altitude you are at actually can affect the temperature it takes for water to boil. I even read on one site that "The boiling point of water is a degree or two lower on stormy, as opposed to fair, weather days. Consequently, boiled food will take longer to book on a stormy day." (taken from http://whatscookingamerica.net/boilpoint.htm) Isn't that strange? I have never heard of such a thing... but I guess not many people put so much thought into boiling water.

Sometimes we don't see God's hand entirely at work until something tangible happens. Something we can see. To believe, to have faith and to trust are all synonyms. Sometimes we have to trust that God is heating up the water even when we can't see the bubbles yet. That one degree, that one prayer, makes the difference.

I have begun to tell people that I feel like the burning bush. Everything says I am on fire. But somehow, I am not being consumed. (Exodus 3:2b  "Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.")

Healer by Kari Jobe

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