Cooks know that in order to keep something from boiling over, you place a wooden spoon over the mouth of the pot. It acts as a barrier, popping the bubbles and making the rising boiling water retreat back into the pot. Prayer can be like a wooden spoon that covers us. Instead of stirring our emotions up, it can help keep things under control. A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel. Proverbs 15:8
Jonah didn’t like how God handled the people of Nineveh. He wanted God to join him in his wrath for these enemies. “Zap them, God.”
We can be like Jonah and “stew in our juices”, as my grandmother used to say. We must resist the urge to pick up the spoon and stir the pot, causing it to boil up. We need to be careful to not use prayer time only as a complaint session to revisit our angst and not get beyond it.
Sure, God is a great sounding board, but at one point we need to stop, and then give it to him to deal with, heal, or reveal the purpose of the issue. He has the ability to turn down the heat.
Perhaps he will let things simmer in order to move us to act. Maybe he will remove the pot from the stove, so to speak. Our attitude should be to trust that he knows what he is doing and allow him to act.
Dear Lord, forgive me when I use my prayer time only to whine and complain, trying to bend your will to mine. Help me to hand it to you to handle and then trust in your loving wisdom and mercy. May your Holy Spirit keep me from picking my spoon back up and stirring things up again. Amen.
Go Deeper — Boil a pot of water with a wooden spoon lying over the surface, or watch a video of one on the internet. Let it remind you of how prayer can keep things from getting out of control.
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