Pray:

An old joke tells about a Sunday School teacher who described a creature who lives in a tree, has a bushy tail and eats nuts.  "What is this creature? The teacher asked.

Little Johnny raised his hand and said, "It sure sounds like a squirrel to me, but this is Sunday School, so the answer must be read your Bible and Pray."

Like most good jokes the humorous story picks up on a point of reality.  In the church we do have these boiler-plate, cliche, one size fits all answers that we give out with way too little thought.  The reality behind Johnny's answer, however, is the basic truth that we do need to spend more time in the Word and prayer.

Yesterday I told you that over the next couple of days we would explore some answers to what we should do when we observe life being in an upside-down situation--the wicked getting along just fine, prospering even, while the righteous not only aren't doing so well, but are suffering because of the oppression of the wicked.  This inversion is a frequent complaint that we find in the Psalms, 10, 37, 73, and 94, for example.

In Psalm 10 David (he is the likely human author) observed

Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hideYourself in times of trouble? 2 In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. 3 For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire, And the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord. (Psalm 10:1-3)   

 Trouble, affliction, boasting, cursing, this isn't the way things ought to be.  What should we do?

Notice the lines, in the portion of Psalm 10 above, that begin, "Why do You . . ." and, "Let them be. . . ."  These are but two examples of several throughout this Psalm.  David is talking to God.  He is praying. 

When I say we should pray I don't intend it to be a trite, easy answer.  

• Could it be that there is more going on than immediately meets my eye?  Look for instance atRomans 11:34-36.
• Who can, and has promised to, do something about this?  (Romans 12:19)
• Is there any possibility, that, though the wicked are getting by--at least at the moment--there is a lesson that I need to learn?  This was Habakkuk's struggle.

 All of these questions point us to the importance of--indeed, the absolute necessity of--prayer.

Answer #1, is Pray.

Stay tuned.

It's STTA. 

Read about a struggle I had following a near fatal accident here. 

You'll find some resources that explains the true hope here.