Do You Have A Minute?

by Barbara Chadwick






Wednesday the phone rang at 4PM.


"Do you have a minute?"

My brain screamed, "No! I have to study the Sunday School I have to teach Sunday morning, make cookies for the Harvest Festival at church, practice a piano piece I'm s'posed to play for service on Sunday, write a devotional for the blog, mop these dirty floors, fix supper and get to the church in time for AWANA!"

But my mouth calmly said, "Sure."

She began to tell me the burden she had for her best friend then asked me what she should do. I asked her what she had done in the past and she related the whole story. I asked what she thought she should do. In a torrent of words she told me that she should help her friend fix things. I said, "God has obviously put this burden on your heart. What is He telling you to do?"

"You're right. I haven't prayed enough about this."

We prayed together on the phone. Before saying goodby she said, "It is such a blessing to me that you took the time to listen. Thank you."

In my prayer time I had been asking God to help us to be a blessing and an encouragement to people in this place. In my half hour on the phone I'm so grateful that my mouth didn't utter what my brain was screaming.

Then, amazingly, I still had time to get everything done - calmly.

This afternoon the need of another friend came to mind. I started to pray and I thought, "Lord, do you have a minute?" I smiled remembering.

I'm so grateful that God is always a prayer away. ALWAYS. He does have a minute. He asks us to call on Him.

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 HCSB