Prayer, the specialty tool

Men???


I had the opportunity to sit down with a
group of men at our church's Men's Ministry. I know many of these
men, so this is a tricky thing to write about. Please understand
that I know these men, and know their hearts, and that this is an
observation of a larger thing than this particular group.

We
sat and people shared. God is moving in our group. This is always
awesome to hear about. Some men talked about their current
situations and how God is changing them into new men in Him. Then,
it happened... Someone brought up how they were in a situation that
they felt like they were taking on the feelings of a group in a
different part of the world. “What does that mean, and how can I
fix it?” was the question asked. This scene needs to stand on
hold for a minute or two.

Years
ago, I felt like I needed to get to know a person. That person was
struggling. I found this out, and then felt like I could help
minister to them. The opportunity to get to know that person never
came. I went through a similar experience later. Then, I went
through another similar experience. Several more followed.


After a number of times of this, I noticed
something new happening. I noticed the weight of situations
affecting me. I started to see the connection between the weight of
struggle of an issue in another's life and the connection was that I
was to pray into it, not to fix it. I saw that God was trying to
show me that He was developing a burden of intercession in me. God
was trying to get my attention by putting people on my heart,
but I wasn't getting it. So He had to up the ante. He was trying to
get me to be sensitive to Him. He was trying to develop something in
me. For the longest time, my propensity was not to pray, but to fix
the problem. I would make the connection, but I felt that God wanted
me to act and jump into my “Tim the Bible Toolman“ clothes and
take care of it like a Man!

Jump
back to the original story... The men I speak of are men of action.
They are great brothers and great workers in the kingdom. I am glad
to know them and have them as friends. I love these brothers.


Knowing that many church intercessors are
women, and often times men are not the prayers they need to be, I am
just pondering this out. Is it coming that God is trying to raise up
more men to be intercessors? Men are great workers. Knowing what
the Lord has taken me through, I wonder if God is trying to encourage
men to add a new tool to the box. I think about this tool and think
about the fact that it is like that specialty wrench. Often times,
men will grab an adjustable wrench, but in reality, we need to grab a
deep well socket. The adjustable wrench may or may not work, but
grabbing the right tool will make the job so much easier.

I
wonder if other men are wondering about the connection as I am.