"Full On" Christian?

 We were talking the other day in Bible Study about how to be ‘full on’ Christians in the world we live in now. History shows us dramatic examples all over of men and women who keep their faith razor sharp, and often pay the ultimate price for it. But what about us, in the world in which we find ourselves today?

Of course, all the obvious things were mentioned, like reading our Bibles faithfully, or praying like Miss Clara in the 2015 classic, “War Room”. That raised lots of related questions, and someone asked, “What about praying in restaurants?”

Wow, that opened the kettle. Some thought that prayer is a personal thing and so praying in public might not be appropriate. Others brought up the “Pray without ceasing” quote from Paul in I Thessalonians 5:16, and that reminded me of my son’s father-in-law, who has taken that verse quite literally. 

We all agreed that this was a subject that bore deeper inspection. The group was split over whether or not praying in public is a mark of high spirituality, but there was no doubt that it would speak to a deeper relationship like no other way. 

One guy in our group said his family prayed in a restaurant once and the waitress came up quietly and asked, “Is everything OK?

He smiled at her and said, “It will be .... now that we’ve prayed.”

Well maybe that’s not the best example, but I got to thinking about this seemingly tiny facet of Christian living.  

I was raised in church, my parents were dedicated Christians, but we never prayed in restaurants.  I’m not sure why; maybe it wasn’t a thing in the 50’s and 60’s.

Actually, it was my little nephew who would have only been about 3, who was with us as we all gathered in a restaurant, ready to dig into our food.

“Grandpa,” he said with a concerned look, “We didn’t pray!”

Daddy collected himself, held out his hands and we all bowed in prayer.  That was about 60 years ago. From that day on, our entire family has continued the tradition without question. 

But what strikes me the most about this event is that the smallest of children anywhere on the planet can know and have some understanding about a relationship with God.  Jesus knew that about kids as He said so well in Matthew 19:14.

So before anything else goes under our belts, do you think it’s a good idea to pause and thank God, even in public?

Love to hear what you have to say,

Marsha 

“Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.”