Sunday, August 10, 2014

How often do we forget to call on God?

The excerpt below is from an article entitled EXCLUSIVE: NEW DETAILS SURFACE IN HAMAS MURDER OF IDF SOLDIER HADAR GOLDIN which was posted on Breitbart News today.  I have highlighted two lines to emphasize something I have been thinking about for quite some time.

"In the midst of this attack, a second force of IDF soldiers--which had gone into a mosque looking for weapons, explosives, and rockets-- encountered a female suicide bomber who was about to detonate the belt she wore, which would have resulted in the deaths of the soldier.  One of the soldiers instinctively recited the opening words of the holiest Jewish prayer “Shema Yisrael”. The female suicide bomber hesitated and began trembling, giving the soldiers a chance to grab her and disable the device. 
The soldiers then took her prisoner and turned her over to a counter-intelligence unit. Their investigation uncovered that the female suicide bomber’s mother was a Jew who had married a Palestinian in Israel and, after the wedding, was smuggled against her will into Gaza. There she lived a life filled with abuse and humiliation, and was basically a captive. In addition to the female suicide bomber, there were two smaller children as well. An armored force went in and rescued the two small children."

If this soldier had not "instinctively recited" (one might call this praying) the Shema, do you think he or the others soldiers, or the female suicide bomber, or the two small children would be alive today?  I don't.

How many opportunities have we missed to change our circumstances, possibly saving lives in the process, because we don't pray?  It seems that God gives us the tools, i.e. thanksgiving, prayer, praise, proclamation, etc. and then expects that we will use them.  Instead, when something bad happens we wait for Him to save us and lose faith because He didn't.  We blame God for not saving us when He has given us all we need already.  We just have to use it.

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