A Prayer Stop Parable

Gleaned via Facebook

 

One Sunday, a cowboy decided to try out a church that was not far from where he lived. During the service the Pastor noticed this cowboy sitting in the back and saw he wasn’t dressed in a shirt and tie. The cowboy was clean and neat in appearance and dressed in clean and no holes jeans, boots, but not work boots, and a very basic button up western style shirt. After the service the pastor welcomed him to church and said, “I wonder if you would do me a favor?” “Yes”, said the cowboy, “just name it.” “Well”, said the Pastor, “I am not sure if you are planning to come back next week, but if you do, would you pray between now and then and ask God to show you what proper attire would be for you to wear at this church?” A bit perplexed and somewhat embarrassed by this request, but not wanting to insult the pastor or get angry, the Cowboy said, “OK, I guess I could do that.”

The following Sunday the Cowboy came back, but much to the frustration and astonishment of the Pastor, he was wearing the exact same clothes. All throughout the service the Pastor could barely preach for the rising level of anger just thinking about how this Cowboy would dare come back to his church and not be dressed in his ‘Sunday Best’ attire. Immediately after the service the Pastor made his way to the Cowboy and asked, “Sir, didn’t you agree that you would pray and ask God to show you what you should wear when attending our church?” “Yes”, said the Cowboy, “I did pray about it.” “What did God reveal to you?” asked the Pastor. Looking the Pastor squarely in the eye, filled with calmness, compassion, and strength, the Cowboy said, “God told me He wouldn’t know what to wear to this church because He’s never been here.”

 

Editor’s Note: ‘A Prayer Stop’ website encourages and equips Christians to pray in unusual places. www.prayerstop.org