Out of the Muck

Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25 - KJV)
One morning during my devotions, I found myself meditating on Matthew 18:12 (NIV) - “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?”
Suddenly, it struck me that many of my son’s teenage friends were lost or straying from the faith. They needed the Good Shepherd to bring them back to the fold. It became clear to me that my personal “mission field” was right at my back door!
I continued reading Matthew 18, stopping at verses 19 and 20. “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” I decided praying with other believers who would “agree about” the salvation of these lost souls would be a good start.
I knew of a prayer group that met faithfully at 6:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. The church where they met was about 60 miles from my house, so praying with them would mean spending a lot of extra money on gas. Despite my tight budget, I decided to drive the distance for as long as my money held out.
The next morning I arrived at the church just as the group leader was unlocking the front door. After explaining my desire to pray for lost lambs in my community, he eagerly agreed that the group would pray in agreement for their salvation.
After five days of diligent prayer, I began to see evidence of answered prayer. When I shared this with the prayer group, they rejoiced at what God was accomplishing and agreed to continue the prayer of agreement.
Payday was still three days away when I put my last few dollars in the gas tank. “This is it, Lord,” I prayed, as the pump clicked to a stop. “No more money.” I replaced the nozzle and walked inside to pay. Handing over the last of my money, I continued my prayer. “Lord, if You want me to keep praying for these teens, please provide the gas money to do so. Thank you. Amen.”
I shared my money problem with the prayer group that morning and asked them to keep praying for the lost lambs even if I couldn’t make it back the next day. As I was leaving, one of the group members slipped a $10 bill in my hand. “Keep coming,” he said with a nod, “and don’t stop praying.” His generosity touched my heart, especially since I knew he was on a tight budget too.
I thanked the Lord for the extra money, but later struggled with the issue of whether or not to spend it all on gas. What if we need milk or bread before payday?” I thought. This concerned me as I was the sole provider for our household.
That night I read about Gideon putting a fleece before the Lord when he needed confirmation of God’s will. (Judges 6:36-40) I got on my knees and prayed, “Lord, I need a sign like You gave Gideon. If You want me to spend this money on gas to keep praying, then please give me another $10 tomorrow in case we need food. I won’t mention this request to anyone but You, Lord. I know I’m making it hard, but I need to know for sure if I’m supposed to spend all this money on gas. Thank You. Amen.”
The next morning I stepped out in faith and pumped $10 worth of gas into the tank before driving to the prayer meeting. I knew in my heart I could not stop praying for these lost souls.
As I walked through the door of the church, much to my surprise several people from the group started stuffing $1 bills into my coat pockets and purse! I stood there amazed at how quickly God answered my prayer.
After the prayer meeting I found four more $1 bills on the front seat of my car. Altogether I counted $17; I only asked God for $10. God made it abundantly clear He wanted me to keep praying.
After several weeks of this early morning routine, I needed a weekend of rest. I decided to make the three hour drive to visit Mom and Dad. Their house always offered a good place for a quiet retreat.
Once there, a good night’s sleep followed by a nourishing breakfast quickly recharged my batteries. After a relaxing morning, Mom and I took their paddleboat out on the lake. Because the lake levels were low, we had to drag the paddleboat through a stretch of muck to reach water deep enough to sustain us and the paddleboat without touching bottom. As Mom finally lifted her leg to climb into the boat, she suddenly lost her balance and fell back into the water! Alarmed, I grabbed her arm, but it was too late. She was already under water. Luckily, she came up laughing even though she was covered with muck from head to toe.
Back in the house, Mom peeled off her muck-soaked clothing and quickly showered. Afterward, she walked into the living room holding up a piece of muck-soaked clothing. “Look," she said, “the muck even soaked through to my underwear!”
I nodded, thinking about a parallel. “I guess that's how it is when someone falls into the muck spiritually, too.”
“Yes,” Mom agreed. “The sin soaks right into their souls."
Mom’s tumble into the lake provided a good analogy. The lambs on my prayer list had lost their balance in life and fallen into the muck of drugs, alcohol and illicit sex. I realized it wasn’t enough to get them out of the muck of their lifestyles. God would have to get the muck out of their souls, as well.
I then remembered a vision shared by a lady in my prayer group, in which she saw Jesus rising up out of the muck. I could now grasp the significance of her vision. Jesus descended into the muck of sin in order to conquer it. He then rose again in order to cleanse us from all our muck.
I marveled at the thoroughness of our Savior. He not only goes out looking for His lost lambs and pulls them out of the muck, but He then cleanses their muck-soaked souls with His own precious blood. What a privilege it is to partner in prayer with Him who “ever liveth to make intercession!”