God is in the Details
By Donna McMorrow
When I look at all that is happening in the world and in our nation at this time, I feel reluctant to take my trivial and sometimes silly prayers and requests to God. Other problems are so much larger than my prayers which can often sound like “honey-do lists” flung up to God. “Father, can I make this traffic light? I’m already late.” “Lord, please let this child sleep through the night.” “God, I need help with my son’s fraction homework.” “Don’t let me embarrass myself again in the Zoom meeting.”
In 2 Kings 6:5-7, we read about an event that takes place by the Jordan River. Men who were following the prophet Elisha were cutting trees to build larger quarters for them to live in. One unnamed man broke the top off of a borrowed axe. The iron axe head fell into the river and sank into the depths. The man cried out at the loss. He couldn’t do the job that had been assigned to him, and he had lost a borrowed tool. Elisha quickly responded by throwing a stick into the water where the man indicated the axe head had been lost. The iron axe head floated right up to the surface, and the man was able to retrieve it.
History doesn’t record this man’s name. He was not a prophet like Elisha. He didn’t have a lot of money; after all, he needed to borrow an axe. He wasn’t a soldier in Israel’s army. He wasn’t doing work that the world would have considered important. He was simply doing what God had called him to do—building a home so that God’s Word and work could be furthered.
As we go about our everyday lives, in our kitchens, at work or school, we sometimes don’t feel that what we are doing matters or that we are accomplishing anything especially important. And yet, we are. We are building God’s kingdom in our little corner of the world. God cares about the details. He cares about our worries and concerns. He wants to hear our little prayers and even our silly ones. “Cast the whole of your care all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully” (1 Peter 5:7 Amplified Bible).
Many times, God will use our little prayers to teach us about Himself and His purposes toward us. He wants to use our everyday life circumstances to draw us to Him, build our faith and further His kingdom.
The next time you feel your prayer or need is unimportant, remember the miracle of a floating axe head. It shows us that God answers our prayers, no matter how small. God cares about the details of your life.
Donna McMorrow and her husband have been married for 41 years. She is a retired special education teacher, adoptive parent, cancer survivor and child of the King. In her free time, she enjoys reading, photography and painting.