It all began with a surround sound speaker...

Decorating is painful. There is the moving of furniture which invariably does you an injury or three, the getting paint on clothes (frustrating), the hitting your head on the ceiling or anywhere else and the random little household injuries that just creep up on you unexpectedly!! Have you ever noticed how painful it is to stand on an upturned plug without shoes on?

So there I was, scrambling around the newly magnolia-d study holding my brush, when I managed to kneel on a broken wall plug. How insignificant, yet I jumped up yelping like one who had mistakenly sat in a box of drawing pins! As I did this, a surround sound speaker fell on my ankle (how?!) and cut it. It was excruciatingly painful and my ankle was swollen and bruised, all from a pathetic little speaker!!

A favourite quote sprang to mind: "Anyone who thinks that they are too small to be effective has clearly never been in bed with a mosquito"... I love that quote! So whilst lying on the floor in a huff, I began to think of David and his fight with Goliath (not your average 'scrap' in fairness). What was he thinking?? Goliath was a monster, there is no doubt about that. I mean, it would be like me saying "Oh yeah, I'll take on Arnie, no problem" (add height, weight and defeats to his name). Can you imagine that?! It would be like a carrot trying to take on a blender!

So there are three conclusions. Either David is an idiot and doesn't have a clue what he is signing up to (if Godzilla was walking through your town in this day and age, I think you might be vaguely aware of the potential consequences of introducing yourself, so unlikely), he is incredibly arrogant in thinking that he is some action hero (read the Psalms and this thought diminishes as quickly as it appears) OR, (the right answer is always last!) he knows something that we don't.

God, if he ventured out in his chariot and stopped for a quick Coke with ice and lemon on a cloud for a minute, would look down and see Goliath, only, he'd see the top of his head, so effectively a tennis ball style sphere. He'd also see David in the same way (perhaps a bouncy ball). He could reach out a finger and knock Goliath over without Goliath threatening him at all.

Little David on the ground looks up and sees Goliath at an angle that makes the Eiffel Tower look like Mount Everest and surely this must be terrifying?! It is the same battle but with a different perspective. Have I just over-analogised what could be a very simple point? Very sorry.

However I don't think that David did look at Goliath with that perspective, otherwise surely he wouldn't have had the guts to take him on with a Dennis the Menace-style sling shot and a few rocks (oh, and no armour!!) What was he thinking?? But this happens over and over in the Bible. People take crazy risks because they they know the truth of the verse that says "I can do anything through Him who gives me strength". Who would have the guts to raise a dead man to life? Who would have the guts to walk through fire and know that they would not be burnt? Now this is all quite radical stuff and yes, may there be more of it (not for the sake of it, only as God ordains). But who has the guts to pray until something happens?

Prayer is frustrating and amazing. There are times when it feels like chewing dry weetabix, times when it feels like there is a plug in your mouth and all the words go nowhere and yet other times when it feels like God has actually walked into your brain/heart and sat down for a cup of tea! But who has the guts to persevere? For years maybe? Maybe there's someone who you are praying for to become a Christian, but you can see no way, that as an ardent atheist, they will ever change. Where is your perspective? Is it too big for God? No. he could walk up to them in the street, tap them on the shoulder and shout "BOO!" if he wanted. Are you praying for someone who is sick? Then keep praying. No you might not understand why/when/how but again, our perspective is not as God's is - "your ways are not our ways".

This is a tough one. Who dares to pray and persevere in the times where it feels like nothing is happening inside us, in response to our prayers, our lives are a bit all over the place and our thoughts are negative? I think that the Lord calls us to this kind of consistency rather than 'flash in the pan' miracles. Jesus could go around and heal the sick of every kind of disease - he was God. We too, have the authority to heal the sick, cast out demons, prophecy etc etc but we are under the authority of God, who ordains when He wants these things to happen and why/where etc. I would love to be someone who can consistently heal the sick in God's power, but if I can't even consistently acknowledge God in my day, or read my Bible, or pray for my family and friends, then I am not pitching my faith at a very high level! Consistency is a work in progress, but God desires characters that are strong, firm and steadfast. For this reason, consistency is a hugely important part of spiritual integrity, no matter how much we mess up in our human state. We do get glimpses and occasions where by God's sheer grace alone, we see a miraculous sign or wonder, but I am not sure that we are supposed to hanker after the one-off spiritual fireworks, but rather move towards a place where our surrender to God is such that He can work through us regularly. The only way that we can really hear what He wants is through prayer. What do others think?