When prayers don't match my rhetoric

The other day a friend blessed me with free tickets to hear a business man speak. And to enjoy a free meal. I accepted.

The meal was Chick-fil-A and the speaker, amazingly enough, was Dan T. Cathy, President and Chief Operating Officer of the corporation. He's also a son of the founder, S. Truett Cathy.

I already knew a little about the Chick-fil-A company. You know, the fast food restaurant that still remains closed on Sundays and refuses to violate their principled policy on the subject. I also knew that the Cathy family seemed to preach good moral values and church-going behavior.

Judy, my wife, and I arrived on time at the Convention Center but the place was already packed, so we chose one of the long lines headed toward the chicken buffet and visited to pass the time.

As we got closer to the serving line, we noticed another line coming from the other direction, but instead of receiving food, they were helping carry plates to the tables. With a towel over his arm, like any good waiter in a classy restaurant, a pleasant, polite man took my plate and said, "Let me help you to your table."

We chose a table and joined some who were already eating. I thanked the man who carried my plate, and he replied, "My pleasure."

When we began to sit next to Mike Riley, a friend of ours, I noticed him rise and go behind me saying, "Mr. Cathy, I've always wanted to shake your hand!"

Dan Cathy, President of Chick-fil-A, had served me by taking my plate to the table and I didn't even realize it. I had been served by the most important man there, the man who was about to speak on how to build a company by going the extra mile (Matthew 5:41).

Maybe this is one reason Chick-fil-A has experienced 39 years of positive sales growth. Maybe it's why they've grown to become the second-largest fast service chicken restaurant chain in the US with 1,340 locations and annual sales of $2 billion.

So what does this have to do with prayer? Well, it's fun to talk about prayer, read about it and study about it, but my prayer life doesn't often match my rhetoric. I want to be one of those God-chasers (as Tommy Tenney puts it) who actually prays, who prays often and prays consistently.

After Jesus had taught on the extra mile principle, and other wonderful things, in His sermon on the mount, he ended by talking about those who hear His words and put them into practice.

They are the wise ones. They get results. They build on solid ground. Their actions don't cancel their rhetoric.