According to biography.com., Corrie ten Boom, was born in Haarlem, Netherlands, in 1892, and grew up in a devoutly religious family. During World War II, she and her family harbored hundreds of Jews to protect them from arrest by Nazi authorities. Betrayed by a fellow Dutch citizen, the entire family was imprisoned. However, she and her family saved about 800 lives during the Holocaust.
Corrie survived and started a worldwide ministry and later told her story in a book entitled “The Hiding Place.” Many of Corrie’s writings surrounded themes of love and forgiveness. A thought-provoking question that she once asked was, “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” This is a good question to think about when considering your prayer life.
Sometimes, the toils of life can be so burdensome that it may seem as though prayer is futile. That is when it is time to say what Jesus said when He was tempted by the devil: “But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man’” (Matthew 16:23 ESV).
Prayer will work, but it has to come from the heart, and the person who is praying must believe that God will hear and will answer. In other words, your petition to God must be effective and fervent as I have mentioned before. God already knows our needs and desires, but He wants us to come to Him and ask for them in the name of Jesus Christ, His Son.
However, don’t wait until you are in need or want something to go to God. Establish a prayer life! Do you know people from whom you never hear a word unless they want something? Well, some of us treat God the same way. Pray often, for the Word says, “Pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17 KJV).
Therefore, let prayer be your steering wheel, not your spare tire. God wants our attention daily, and if you truly love and believe in Him, you will talk to Him daily. On a personal note, I don’t know where I would be if it were not for prayer and a strong faith in God.
Remember that your prayer does not always have to be one of requests, but also one of thanksgiving. Sometimes when you go to God in prayer, just thank Him for all that He has done for you and all that you know He will do if you should remain faithful. Let your requests be made known to Him in another prayer. Pray for others. Pray for world peace. Pray for who God is in your life. Keep the prayer wheel turning, and you won’t need a spare when it comes to your needs being supplied.
The Word says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 ESV), and I do believe this with all my heart.
Here are some more of Corrie ten Boom’s thought-provoking quotes about prayer and its opposite:
“You can never learn that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have.”
“If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.”
“Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.”
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.”
“Worry is like a rocking chair: it keeps you moving but doesn’t get you anywhere.”
I recently found this perspective on prayer in an image on Facebook. It will further substantiate why prayer should not be your spare tire, but it must be your steering wheel.
• Prayer protects us.
• Prayer changes things.
• Prayer keeps you in the will of God.
• Prayer draws you closer to God.
• Prayer makes you happy.
• Prayer gives hope.
• Prayer makes you less selfish.
• Prayer heals you from all pain.
• Prayer makes you stronger spiritually.
Have a wonderfully blessed week, and never leave home without Him!
(Anna Bright is a minister and educator in Walterboro. She can be reached at abrightcolumn@lowcountry.com)
