We are now well into the Lenten Season. We began this year’s Lenten Journey on Ash Wednesday, February 18th and we will continue this journey until we come to celebrate our Saviour’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Therefore, as we consider resurrection and our eternal future, I need to share a story with you. It was all a horrible accident. The drivers didn’t even see each other as they approached the intersection in the heavy early morning fog. As a result of the collision, both drivers died at the scene. One was in his taxi going to the airport to pick up a business traveler that had just arrived. The other was a pastor on his way to the hospital to visit a sick parishioner. Fortunately, both men immediately went to heaven. The taxi driver was met with cheers, accolades, and all manner of rewards. He was given a fabulous mansion, a golden crown, and a number of angels to welcome and assist him in his newly Heavenly home. The pastor, well, there was no celebration. There were no cheers, accolades, or rewards. He was quietly escorted to a small wooden shack of a house. The pastor simply couldn’t understand the discrepancy. He demanded to speak with St. Peter. The pastor, said, “I don’t get it. I spent my entire life ministering to other people. I was a faithful and diligent servant of Christ. I sacrificed everything for the sake of the Gospel. Why is it that common taxicab driver deserves all that celebration and a huge mansion? What did he do that was so great? Why didn’t I at least receive the same rewards that were bestowed upon him?” Sternly, St. Peter looked the pastor in the eyes and said, “Son, let me tell you, up here, we go strictly by the book. The truth is, you never accomplished all that you thought you did. You see, when you preached, most of the people actually slept. They didn’t really listen to you. But, I’m here to tell you, when that taxicab driver drove, believe me, the people in his cab, those people, every last one of them prayed and they prayed seriously!” Perhaps our greatest challenge in life is prayer. Lent is a very special time to engage in prayer. Years ago, an elderly friend of mine said, “Prayer is not preparation for the battle; prayer is the battle!” As a congregation, we believe in the power of prayer. As I study church history, I really admire those who seriously prayed. You and I both read about prayer. We talk about prayer. We like to hear stories about prayers that have been answered. Yet the real question is this, “How much do you and I actually pray?” At the height of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther said that if he did not spend three hours a day in prayer, he could never accomplish all that needed to be done that day. Now, I’m not saying each of us should pray three hours a day – it would be great if we did – but I am offering this challenge, “How’s your prayer life?” How much does your prayer life really mean to you? Do you take prayer seriously, every day and not just in times of distress or need? How is your prayer life? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given unto you.” In James 4:2 we read, “You have not because you ask not.” We need to learn to pray in accordance with the will of our Heavenly Father. We also need to realize that prayer doesn’t really change God, it changes us. Prayer changes you and me. Prayer helps us to submit to the will of God for us and to embrace His plan for our lives. As we consider the life of Paul, we see a man who was dramatically changed by the power of the holy Gospel. However, he did not have an easy life. Paul, like our Saviour and so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ, suffered because of his faith in Christ. Remember the words of Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” – Philippians 4:4-9, ESV. Several years ago a little book took the popular Christian community by storm. It was The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. In that book, Wilkinson told the story of taking five year old David to a public playground. There were swings, monkey bars, and seesaws. However, most engaging to David were the three sliding boards—one small, one medium, one enormous. David shot for the small one first. He climbed right up the steps, slid down the slide, waved to everyone on his way down, and he continued to go again and again and again, enjoying each moment. But you know how it is with small sliding boards; after a while you get bored. So, David moved quickly to the medium-sized sliding board. He hesitated a little at the bottom but went right up the steps. With a look of fear and excitement, he went down that slide with a big smile on his face. Finally, David went over to the enormous sliding board. Confident, he didn’t tarry long. David just started climbing the steps. Half-way up he literally froze. Fear completely gripped him. David turned and looked to his father and he yelled, “Daddy, will you come over and slide with me? I can’t do it without your help.” Wilkinson said, “I was standing there all the time just waiting for him to ask. And with one simple request I ran to him! I came up the slide behind him. I picked him up, carried him to the top, sat down on the slide, pulled him between my legs, put my big arms around him, and with one sign of joy between the two of us, we went down that enormous sliding board together…Many of us seldom pray because we have never been on the big sliding board.” We have chosen to live our lives in fear and doubt, spiritually frozen in time and space. We haven’t taken the time to look into the face of our Heavenly Father and say, “Daddy, holy Father in Heaven, will you come over and slide with me? I can’t do it without your help.” Jesus encourages us to make our requests, petitions, and supplications to Him in our prayers. We need to pray. We must learn to pray and we can only learn the discipline of prayer by practicing it. As we engage our Heavenly Father in daily prayer, asking Him to reveal His will for us and to empower us to obey and do His will, we will find great reward in our lives, in the lives of our family and friends, and in the life of His church. As we continue our Lenten Journey, let us pray and let us rejoice in the victory of our Saviour’s resurrection. Let us commit and recommit ourselves to spend more time with Him who gave Himself for us! And, if we need to, perhaps we can live our lives in much the same way a certain taxi driver as he drove his cab. Keep a good Lent, Pastor Jim