One of the finest people that ever worked for God was a man named Lester Sumrall. I had the pleasure of touring Israel in February 1996 with Mr. Sumrall's tour group. A few months after the tour, Mr. Sumrall joined the Lord in Heaven. He was in his 80s. His ministry, "LeSea Broadcasting" is being run by his family, and is based in South Bend, Indiana. I receive a monthly letter from the ministry written by Lester's son, Pete, and I am taking the liberty of coping part of that letter, as it makes a good point on how praying on a daily basis will produce the strength and faith to skim through the tough times, rather than only praying when the tough times show up.
The following was written by Pete Sumrall:
"I want to share a story about two missionaries traveling by donkey through rural parts of China who were taken hostage at gunpoint. As their captors marched them down a desolate path, guns pointed at their heads, neither missionary knew if the next sneeze or stumble would trigger instant death. Each silently prayed, "God save us. What do we do now?" Led by the Spirit, one of the young men pulled out his Bible and read Rev. 19:6, "Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and the loud peals of thunder, shouting: 'Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns!" (NIV).
Encouraged by that verse, the young American simply turned, looked at his captor, and laughed out loud! Shocked and disgraced, the young thief lowered his rifle and his eyes. Through an interpreter he said, "We are hungry, do you have any food?" The answer was simply, "Yes! We have food. Take some and go your way."
The encounter happened to my father, young Lester Sumrall, while traveling with an elder statesman, Howard Carter, over 65 years ago. Once again, God's incredible, omnipotent power was proven through His Word. His power was indeed stronger than any other power in the universe; and with that reassurance, they continued to minister the Gospel throughout China.
What brings this up today? Because we are faced with similar threats of violence and terrorism. But we must overcome and bring victory through the Gospel of Christ! Our world is upside down. Right and wrong are relative. Instead of being guided by Christian morals, even Christians succumb to a secular society driven by pleasure, by self-service. Meet my needs. Serve me, me, me!
Yet when the world seems to fall apart, suddenly we remember God, His Word, and His promises for our future. We dust off the Bible, go to church, and watch Christian television or listen to Christian radio. We use religion like medication to numb the pain. While it is not wrong for us to turn to God in times of crisis, we need to seat Him on the throne of our hearts everyday. We need to experience the words from Revelation: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns!"
God is in control of the world around us, but He cannot direct our hearts unless we give Him the reins of control. More often then we care to admit, we make a decision without considering what Jesus would want us to do. When we go down the wrong path or make a bad decision, we cry out to God for help. God has every right to say, "I didn't get you in that situation, now you want Me to get you out?" Yet more often than not, He shows mercy and provides a way of escape. Lester Sumrall prayed to God every day. When a crisis showed up in his life, he had the strength and faith to laugh at the situation, knowing God was there with him. A good example for all of us to follow, daily and constant prayer is far more effective to get through the bad times, than praying only when the bad times show up.
By George Konig
Christian Internet Forum
www.georgekonig.org
July 27, 2003
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